Anderson Cooper Talks Co-Parenting Newborn Son With His Ex Benjamin Maisani

Anderson Cooper and Benjamin Maisani
Andrew H. Walker/WireImage

'My friends have become my family,' the CNN anchor gushes.

Anderson Cooper is opening up about what it's like co-parenting his newborn son, Wyatt, with ex Benjamin Maisani.

The CNN anchor explained why he made the decision during his guest appearance on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday.

"I don't really have a family, so my friends have become my family. This is somebody I was involved with for 10 years," he shared. "He's a great guy. We didn't work out as a couple but ... if more people love my son and are in his life, I'm all for that. My ex is a great guy, and I think it's good to have two parents if you can."

Cooper also revealed that since Maisani is French, they'll teach Wyatt to call him "papa," while Anderson will go by "dad" or "daddy."

Earlier this month, Cooper previously spoke about co-parenting with his ex during his virtual Late Show With Stephen Colbert appearance. The two split in March 2018 after going public with their relationship in 2015. 

"He's going to be a co-parent to Wyatt even though we're not together anymore," Cooper said. "He's my family, and I want him to be Wyatt's family as well."

Cooper revealed the exciting news that he welcomed Wyatt via surrogate during an on-air segment in April, later taking to Instagram to share the first official pic of his newborn son.

"I want to share with you some joyful news. On Monday, I became a father. This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old. He is named after my father, who died when I was 10," he wrote. "I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. My son's middle name is Morgan. It's a family name on my mom's side. I know my mom and dad liked the name Morgan because I recently found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me."

"Wyatt Morgan Cooper. My son," he added. "He was 7.2 lbs at birth, and he is sweet, and soft, and healthy and I am beyond happy."

Hear more in the video below.

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