As a child himself, Anderson Cooper never thought he’d be able to have children.

“When I was 12 years old and knew I was gay and thought about my life, it always upset me because I thought, ‘I will never be able to have a kid,’” the 54-year-old CNN anchor told People.

Forty years later, he’s a proud father of two beautiful sons.
After his birth, Cooper explained his son was named after his late father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, and the name Morgan was a family name, which was on the shortlist to be his name, on his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt‘s side.

Cooper confessed on Ellen DeGeneres’ EllenTube that prior to Wyatt’s birth, he acquired numerous parenting books but never read them.

“I got all these books about being a parent, and I didn’t read any of them. It turns out you actually have to read the books,” he said. “Just buying the books themselves, and having them around doesn’t work. You actually have to read them.”

Despite being unsure about his parenting skills, Cooper said he loved “everything” about it. Plus, he had lots of support, especially from his ex, Benjamin Maisani, who co-parents with him.
“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.”
Recently, the “unusual” family expanded.

Cooper announced on his show, Anderson Cooper 360, that he recently welcomed another child, Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper, into his home. He also revealed that Maisani was in the process of adopting Wyatt, now 22 months old.
“This is Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper. He was 6.8 pounds at birth and he was healthy and happy and even his occasional hiccups, are to me, adorable. He mostly just sleeps and eats and certainly poops, but he already seems like a wise and thoughtful little chap.”
The CNN anchor plans to raise both of his sons with Maisani, whom he calls his best friend.

While being a first-time parent may have been a bit much to handle at first, Cooper said he’s “definitely calmer” the second time around.
Now that Cooper has two beautiful babies, he plans to take some time off of work and enjoy the time with his sons before they grow up.

Congratulations, Anderson! You have such a beautiful family.