Anderson Cooper plans to raise his son with his ex-boyfriend because he thinks it is "good" for a child to have two parents.
The CNN anchor welcomed son Wyatt into the world last month via a surrogate and recently revealed his former partner Benjamin Maisani – who he split from in 2018 – will play a key role in the tot’s life, and he’s explained his thinking partly stems from being raised by just his mother after his dad died when he was 10.
Speaking to Howard Stern on SiriusXM, he said: "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’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."
Anderson plans for Wyatt to call him ‘Dad’ or ‘Daddy’, while Benjamin, who is French, will go by ‘Papa’.
The 52-year-old presenter admitted he has no idea what the 47-year-old businessman is saying when he speaks to Wyatt in French.
He quipped: "He could be turning the kid against me, I don’t know."
Anderson Cooper wanted son to have two parents
