On Friday Anderson Cooper, the popular host of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 will make history, covering the first-ever Pride issue of People Magazine. But, he won't appear alone. For the momentous occasion, Cooper will appear in his new role as a dad, carrying his month-old son Wyatt Morgan Cooper.
"When I was 12 years old and knew I was gay and thought about my life, it always upset me because I thought, 'I will never be able to have a kid,'" he said in the issue. "This is a dream come true."
When Cooper announced Wyatt's birth back in April, he spoke to that point of not imagining he would ever have a child. At the time, he went on to thank the doctors and nurses involved in the birth as well as the surrogate who carried the child and their family.
"My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me," he wrote to Instagram. "My family is blessed to have this family in our lives." Since, he's revealed that family includes his ex.
Though they are not together romantically any longer, Cooper's ex-boyfriend Benjamin Maisani is co-parenting the child.
"My ex is a great guy and I think it's good to have two parents if you can," Cooper told Howard Stern Maisani is speaking to Wyatt in French and as a result will likely be "papa" to Cooper's "daddy." But a tot brings with it a new reality.
"I feel invested in the future in a way I hadn't really before," Cooper told People. "There's something about having a child that makes you feel connected to what is happening and you want to make sure that the world this child is growing up in is a better one. You suddenly worry much more about the future of all of us."
One of the results is that while he doesn't sleep a lot, the journalist is crying quite a bit.
"I cry at things I never cried at before," he said. "And Benjamin, I've never seen him cry, but I couldn't believe how weepy he gets with Wyatt. I find myself being overwhelmed with emotion, and it's a lovely thing."
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