Details About Anderson Cooper's Breakup With Longtime Boyfriend Ben Maisani — And Their New Co-Parenting Arrangement
He's a new dad.
Getty Images Anderson Cooper is a father! The CNN host recently announced the birth of his baby boy, Wyatt Cooper, who was conceived with the help of a surrogate. And while it also looked like he might have gotten back together with his ex-boyfriend Ben Maisani, they are not actually dating again.
However, he has chosen to co-parent his new son with Maisani and announced his decision on a recent episode of The Howard Stern Show, even though they're no longer a couple.
Who is Anderson Cooper dating?
In March 2018, Cooper, 52, confirmed that he and his longtime boyfriend, Ben Maisani, 47, had split as partners. And it looked like Cooper was already seeing someone else.
“Benjamin and I separated as boyfriends some time ago. We are still family to each other, and love each other very much,” Cooper, who broke the story, said in a statement. “We remain the best of friends, and will continue to share much of our lives together.”
Cooper and Maisani were together for nine years, but it seemed like that was long enough.
Cooper with ex-boyfriend, Ben Maisani
It was reported that Cooper had been making trips to Dallas since the weekend before Christmas 2017 to spend time with 35-year-old radiologist Victor Lopez. He had made at least five trips to see Lopez over the few months before he announced his split from Maisani.
The journalist brought Lopez along with him on a business trip to New Orleans in mid-January 2018, where Lopez posted a photo of Cooper lounging in their hotel room and celebrating Mardi Gras.
Two weeks later, Cooper traveled to Dallas once again and grabbed a bite to eat at a local pizza place.
Two women had reportedly posted about seeing Cooper at the restaurant. One of those women confirmed he was there with Lopez.
The doctor later traveled to Boston to watch Cooper perform in early February 2018. Lopez posted pictures from the audience of Cooper’s performance and of himself on his flight back to Texas on February 11th.
Just one week later, Cooper was in Dallas for Lopez’s birthday party. The silver fox posed for some pictures with Lopez and his friends, which were posted on social media.
If Cooper wants to be Lopez’s lover, he’s got to get with his friends, right? However, neither Cooper nor Lopez had ever confirmed that they were dating.
Lopez’s Instagram account has since gone private and he has deleted some photos, suggesting he may have been uncomfortable with the amount of attention that his posts were getting. Lopez had also been spotted cozying up to another man, which suggested that he and Cooper may have just been a fling or really were just friends.
It had previously been speculated that Cooper and boyfriend Maisani had an open relationship.
Maisani was seen kissing another guy in Central Park back in 2012. The couple had been together for a few years already and had been living with each other since 2009.
Cooper and Maisani owned multiple properties together. They purchased a home near Quogue, Brazil, after they stumbled into the quaint village on a vacation. The couple also bought an $8 million home in Connecticut and own a growing property in the Hampton’s.
The pair also seemingly continued to live together in their Greenwich Village home in Manhattan despite their break up as they were spotted heading to the gym together shortly after the split. Once a swolemate, always a swolemate.
But now, Cooper seems to be putting less focus on getting a boyfriend or dating and more on his new job as the father of a baby boy.
Cooper's son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, was born on Monday, April 27th. At the end of the weekly global town hall on coronavirus, Cooper showed viewers a sweet surprise: photos of his newly born bundle of joy!
He said, "It has been a difficult time in all of our lives, and there are certainly many hard days ahead. It is, I think, especially important in these times of trouble to try to hold on to moments of joy and moments of happiness. Even as we mourn the loss of loved ones, we are also blessed with new life and new love."
He went on to say, "I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I am so grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth. Most of all, I am eternally grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, watched over him lovingly, tenderly, and gave birth to him."
Viewers were in shock as this was the first time the host publicly addressed his decision to have a baby.
The baby is named after Cooper's father, and his middle name comes from Cooper's mother's side of the family.
"I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing and watching, looking down on us. Happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt... and that our family continues. New life and new love."
He also posted the announcement on his Instagram, writing, "On Monday, I became a father. I've never actually said that before, out loud, and it still kind of astonishes me. I am a dad. I have a son. And I want you to meet him."
However, some rumors started to suggest that Cooper may have very quietly reconciled with Maisani before he welcomed his baby boy.
A source had claimed, “Anderson has reconciled with Ben. They very quietly got back together and are planning ahead. Ben is selling one of his clubs and cutting back on how much he does at night so he can spend more time at with Anderson and the baby.”
These rumors turned out to be false, however, as Cooper and Maisani are not dating again. But they are co-parenting.
Recently, Cooper explained to Howard Stern in an interview why he has chosen to co-parent with his ex.
During the interview, Stern asked, "Don't you want a clean break from this guy? I mean this was a guy, you were in love, you had a close relationship, why have him involved?"
Cooper responded, "I don't really have a family, and so my friends become my family. This is somebody I was involved with for 10 years, he's a great guy. We didn't work out as a couple, but... when I was a little kid, it was just my mom and my brother, but it was my mom — she was not the most parental person and I wish some adult after my dad died had stepped in and just been like, 'You know what, I'll take you to a ball game.' Or, 'Let's go out to lunch every now and then, and let's just talk.'
You know, no one ever did that and so I thought, well if something happens to me or even if something doesn't happen to me, if more people love my son and are in his life, I'm all for that. You know, my ex is a great guy, and I think it's good to have two parents if you can."
In early May, Cooper first revealed his decision to co-parent.
He did so in an interview with Stephen Colbert, where he also spoke about his late mother.
"In the course of one year, just on a personal basis, to have experienced the loss of her life and to have been there with her when she breathed her last breath and to witness that and to be holding her at that time, and then to suddenly... be in a delivery room with this amazing surrogate and her husband and my former partner Benjamin... and to see a new human being come into existence, which I'd never seen in person before, it was just extraordinary. [Benjamin is] going to be a co-parent to Wyatt, even though we're not together anymore, but, you know, he's my family and I want him to be Wyatt's family, as well," he revealed.
Congrats are in order for Cooper and Maisani as they raise Wyatt together!
Sarah Gangraw is an author who writes about all things news, entertainment and crime.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on March 18, 2016 and was updated with the latest information.