Gigi and Zayn no longer have a monopoly on baby news. CNN anchor and silver fox Anderson Cooper announced on Thursday, April 30 that he is now a father. “I want to share with you some joyful news,†Cooper wrote in a lengthy and heartfelt Instagram post featuring him feeding his newborn son. “On Monday, I became a father. This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old.†Cooper writes that he named Wyatt after his father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, who passed away when he was 10 years old, and gave him the middle name Morgan to honor his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, who passed away in June 2019. Are you emotional yet? If not, you might want to grab some tissues before the next chunk, where Cooper describes how, as a gay man, he thought this day may never come. “As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I’m grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son’s birth.†[Starts to get misty eyed.]
Cooper goes on to sing the praises of his “remarkable surrogate,†praising her for carrying and giving birth to Wyatt. “It is an extraordinary blessing - what she, and all surrogates give to families who cant have children. 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. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives.†[Silently begins to wipe away tears]. Cooper ends his Instagram post by referencing his late mother, father, and brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, who committed suicide in 1988. “I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues.†[Convulsive sobbing commences.]
We can now officially welcome Anderson Cooper into the pantheon of famous gay dads including but not limited to Matt Bomer, Ricky Martin, and, of course, his friend and also new father, Andy Cohen. Wait, does this mean we won’t get to see Cooper and Cohen going shot for shot on CNN’s New Year’s Eve? If that’s the price we have to pay as a community to support new daddy Anderson Cooper, then so be it.