Anderson Cooper Shares 2 Kids With Ex-Boyfriend Benjamin Maisani: Meet His Former Beau 

When it comes to coparenting, Anderson Cooper and his ex-boyfriend Benjamin Maisani always prioritize their children. Though the pair are no longer romantically involved, they work together to raise their two sons, Wyatt and Sebastian, whom they welcomed via surrogate. Keep scrolling to learn more about Anderson’s former partner. 

Who Is Anderson Cooper’s Ex-Boyfriend Benjamin Maisani? 

Benjamin moved to New York from France in the early ‘90s to study film in college. He worked at the Morgan Library in the Big Apple before getting a job as a bartender. 

“I’ve always been a night person,” he told Frenchly in April 2014. “The bar got me out of my books and the cozy atmosphere of the Morgan. And working in a social environment forced me to work on my timidity. It gave me self-confidence.”

Years later, he became a key figure in the New York City nightclub scene, opening up several successful bars like Bedlam and the Atlas Social Club. The journalist and the businessman began dating back in 2009. They split nine years later but did not rule out the possibility of raising children together. They welcomed Wyatt in April 2020. 

“It was interesting because he wasn’t really sure he wanted to have a kid, which was one of the reasons we probably broke up,” Anderson said during a February 2021 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “But then he came around on the idea, and now he is just such a great parent.”

At the time of the interview, the New York native revealed that he and his ex-boyfriend were still living in the same house. The former couple decided to expand their family once more, with the arrival of their youngest son, Sebastian, in February 2022. 

Anderson explained his dynamic with Benjamin and how they planned to jointly raise their sons in an emotional segment on Anderson Cooper 360.

“Wyatt calls me ‘daddy’ and Benjamin ‘papa.’ We’re a family,” he said after becoming a dad of two. “Benjamin is also in the process of adopting Wyatt, whose last name will be changed to Maisani-Cooper as well.”

Since becoming parents, Anderson and Benjamin have continued to build a healthy coparenting relationship. 

“It’s awesome,” the 60 Minutes correspondent gushed to People in September 2021. “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 coparents.”