May 5, 2020
Watch: Anderson Cooper Says He Told Mom Gloria Vanderbilt About Being a Dad Before Her Death
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Stopping by "Live with Kelly and Ryan" on Monday, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper opened up about becoming a first-time dad and revealed that he was able to tell his late mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, about his plans of becoming a father before her death last year.
Last week, Cooper revealed to the world that he became a new father after his son Wyatt Morgan Cooper was born. But speaking to hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest this week, Cooper shared that he was able to tell his mother, who died in 2019, that he was going to be a dad.
"I was able to tell her shortly before she died that I was going to have a baby," Cooper said via video chat. "I hadn't actually – Wyatt hadn't been created at that point. Wyatt wasn't actually a being at that point. But he was an idea in my head and I was in the process of it."
He went on to share that his son's middle name is an ode to his mom.
"I've been going through my mom's things because she passed away in June, and I found a list that she and my dad [Wyatt Emory Cooper] had handwritten out of possible names for me before I was born and one of them was Morgan," Cooper said. "So, I knew that they liked the name. So yeah, I went with it."
When asked if fatherhood has changed him so far, Cooper said, "it's weird."
"I was trying to think about this last night actually. I keep coming back to the word astonishing. It's amazing, astonishing. I don't know. I just stare at him. Hours will go by and I realize I've just been sitting there holding him," he said. "After a baby's born, you do this thing skin-to-skin where you hold the baby on your chest. I still do that all the time. There's nothing better. He's like a little amphibious creature all curled up with his feet up and he's like a little tiny frog or something. It's so cute and I just can't help but stare at him."
Cooper admitted he's now drinking coffee more than ever to keep up with being a dad to a newborn.
"I've become addicted. I've never had it before. I mean, I've had it like once or twice on TV and never in real life," Cooper said. "And now I can't believe I've lasted this long. I understand why people drink coffee now."
Nevertheless, Cooper said having a baby is "something I've always dreamed of."
"I'm very lucky. I'm very, very blessed," he added.
Check out his interview on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" below.
