On February 10, 2022, Anderson Cooper announced the birth of his second child on the “Anderson Cooper 360” program. The CNN anchor shares the boy with his former longtime partner and best friend, Benjamin Maisani.
The duo are also parents to their first son, whom they had welcomed two years prior. Benjamin is a businessman who decided to open his “Eastern Bloc” bar after working at one, and he built relationships with celebrities at his establishment.
Anderson Cooper at the AOL Build Speaker Series to discuss “Nothing Left Unsaid” in New York on April 15, 2016.
While it’s unclear if Anderson used to visit the bar, his friend Andy Cohen was reportedly a frequent customer there. Benjamin and Anderson, who had been together for years, welcomed their second child in 2022. In his announcement about his new son, Anderson introduced him by stating:
“This is Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper. He was 6.8 pounds at birth, and he’s healthy and happy, even his occasional hiccups are to me adorable. He mostly just sleeps, and eats and poops, but he already seems like a wise and thoughtful little champ.”
“They seem to be getting along really well. I mean, ‘Getting along well’ — Sebastian sleeps. He can’t say Sebastian yet, he calls him Luke. So every morning he wants to go say ‘Good morning, Luke.’”
“It’s great to be able to come home and decompress.”
The father of two also revealed his nightly bonding routine with Wyatt, saying, “And every night to be able to feed Wyatt and give him his milk, he falls asleep on my chest, and there’s nothing better.”
Wyatt and Sebastian also play well together and even use some of their famous dad’s old toys — that he used to play with his brother. Anderson said seeing her sons’ relationship with each other is “incredible” to witness.
He revealed in an interview that their co-parenting relationship is effortless. When he goes to work at night, Benjamin looks after the kids. They both wake up right before the boys do, get them their milk, and then spend the first few hours of the day with them. According to Anderson, Benjamin speaks French with their sons.
In a September 2023 interview, the 56-year-old famed broadcaster gushed about being a father, saying, “This is the best time in my life. There is no doubt about it.”
Benjamin Maisani and Anderson Cooper at Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 14th Annual An Enduring Vision Benefit on November 2, 2015, in New York City.
Anderson’s Relationship & Co-parenting with Benjamin Maisani
Anderson and Benjamin started seeing each other in 2009, went public with the relationship in 2015, and revealed they’d broken up in 2018. The couple might not be in a relationship anymore, but they were so well bonded that the star announced:
“Maisani is going to be a co-parent to Wyatt even though we’re not together anymore. He’s my family, and I want him to be Wyatt’s family as well.”
“It’s probably an unusual setup, but I knew he would be a great dad, and he is. We’re exes, but we’re family to each other, and we love each other as family and as co-parents.”
“I’ve always believed that if you’ve been with somebody and that ends, in terms of an intimate relationship, if you love somebody, there’s no reason why that love shouldn’t continue.”
Anderson Cooper and Benjamin Maisani at Kathy Griffin’s Carnegie Hall Performance official afterparty on November 8, 2013, in New York City.
In February 2021, during a “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” interview, Anderson confessed to host Ellen DeGeneres that he and Benjamin once wanted different things to start a family. The star elaborated:
“It’s interesting, because he wasn’t really sure he wanted to have a kid—which is one of the reasons we probably broke up—but then, he came around to the idea. Now he is such a great parent.”
Inside Anderson’s Firehouse, Where He Lives with His Kids
On June 9, 2020, Anderson gave People a tour of the home that he converted from a fire station. Viewers saw his first son’s nursery, with its central theme, blue, featuring throughout the space.
Anderson Cooper shows off the changing area in the nursery
The nursery was still in progress, and some photos hadn’t been hung up. One painting, done by Anderson’s late mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, of herself and the star’s late father, whom Wyatt was named after, was featured on one side of the room.
Kevin Hart and David Beckham shooting an H&M advert in Anderson Cooper’s West Village home uploaded on September 28, 2015.
Another image showed Anderson’s handprint when he was a child. One corner of the room had lots of stuffed animals that once belonged to the doting dad, while the blue wallpaper had a beetle design, and a paper mache cupid was hung up above the baby’s white crib.
Anderson Cooper showing off a paper mache cupid in his son’s nursery
Anderson explained that he wanted all the items in his son’s room to have personal history and significance. A changing area and a picture of Benjamin and his sister, when they were younger, were added to the room.
In 2015, David Beckham and Kevin Hart shot an H&M campaign in Anderson’s home.
In September 2018, the “60 Minutes” correspondent indirectly showed his house off to The Hollywood Reporter while spending three days with the publication. The star lived with Lilly, his Welsh springer spaniel, and he and Benjamin had broken up earlier that year.
Kevin Hart and David Beckham shooting an H&M advert in Anderson Cooper’s West Village home uploaded on September 28, 2015.
Anderson spent years restoring it and installing an elevator. At the same time, the second floor has a salon with taxidermy and Old Master paintings, plus hand-painted signs that he collected during trips to Cuba and Africa.
The West Village home has a kitchen island, and the living room features a side table adorned with a Victorian calendar that he found in his mother’s bedroom. It has the date July 22, 1988, which is the day his brother, Carter Cooper, died by suicide at 23 in their mom’s apartment.
Including his great-great-grandfather’s Civil War commissioning notice, the star’s personal artifacts are also featured in the home. A photo by his late friend, Tim Hetherington, shows a younger Anderson in Afghanistan.
Kevin Hart and David Beckham shooting an H&M advert in Anderson Cooper’s West Village home uploaded on September 28, 2015.
Another item that stood out in his home was an 18th-century Italian marble, Memento Mori. The firehouse, built in 1906, was renovated by architect Cary Tamarkin with the 20th-century Beaux-Arts building’s interiors.
In 2015, David Beckham and Kevin Hart shot an H&M campaign in Anderson’s home. The advert allowed fans to view Anderson’s beautiful home, showing off its living room, gym, roof terrace, and one of his bedrooms.
