Anderson Cooper Surprises Everyone With Huge Baby News

Anderson Cooper loves being a father, a title he earned in April 2020 when he welcomed his son Wyatt Morgan via surrogate with former partner Benjamin Maisani, which he announced on Instagram. Even though Cooper and Maisani announced their split in March 2018, they emphasized they continued to regard each other as "family," according to People. "We remain the best of friends, and will continue to share much of our lives together," they said in a statement. Cooper and Maisani proved theirs were no empty words when they announced their intention to raise baby Wyatt together. "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," the CNN anchor told People in September 2021.

Their raising Wyatt together sparked questions of whether the former partners would rekindle their romance, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards. "No, no, that's not going to happen," Cooper said on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." They may no longer be a couple, but Cooper and Maisani do still live together while raising a son. "That's a show right there. I think we should produce a show about that," DeGeneres joked about Cooper's modern family arrangement. 

Cooper and Maisani proved once again that they aren't concerned about what people think about their family structure, though, as the co-parents recently announced some pretty big news about their ever evolving dynamics. 

Anderson Cooper is a proud father of two, he announced February 10 on his CNN show. His second son, named Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper, was born February 7 via surrogate, like his first son, Wyatt Morgan. "The sacrifices she and her family — her entire family — made, and the love that they gave Sebastian this past year has been extraordinary," Cooper said of the surrogate. 

Unlike Wyatt, Sebastian was registered by both Cooper and his former partner and best friend, Benjamin Maisani. Cooper further explained that Maisani has already filed the paperwork to formally adopt their first child, making both boys Maisani-Coopers. To Wyatt, Cooper is "daddy" and Maisani is "papa," Cooper explained. Also, Wyatt calls his brother Luke, preferring his easier-to-pronounce middle name.

Cooper had previously hinted that he might try to have another baby. "There is nothing in the works," he said on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in February 2021, before stuttering a few phrases and finally arriving at a more concrete answer. "I don't know, I would — yes... I think it'd be great for him to have a sibling." Cooper seemed concerned about whether he could handle two children. "But [Wyatt] is really such an easy kid," he finally concluded. Cooper indeed seems to enjoy parenthood, which he often documents on Instagram. He captioned a June post, "Getting to see my little boy's joy-filled face every day, and watching him grow, is the best present I could ever receive."