Anderson Cooper and ex Benjamin Maisani are taking legal steps to make their family official — despite not being a couple.
While announcing the birth of their second son, Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper, the CNN host also revealed that Maisani will adopt their firstborn, Wyatt.
“Wyatt calls me ‘Daddy’ and Benjamin ‘Papa.’ We’re a family,” Cooper, 54, shared on his show Thursday. “Benjamin is also in the process of adopting Wyatt, so Wyatt’s last name will be changed to Maisani-Cooper as well.”
Prior to the official adoption process, Cooper and his former partner, 49, simply had been co-parenting.
“He’s doing great, and he’s just so adorable, and he’s got a lot more hair than Wyatt had when he was born, and he’s just incredible,” the journalist added of Sebastian, noting that 21-month-old Wyatt is “thrilled” to be a big brother.
Cooper then signed off his broadcast early to be with his kids.
The famed news anchor broke the news of Wyatt’s birth via surrogate on his show, “Anderson Cooper 360,” in May 2020. He later admitted on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that he had not properly baby-proofed his home prior to Wyatt’s arrival.
“I didn’t do that, and now I’m using deer fencing because I don’t really know what I’m doing,” he joked at the time.
“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 … just buying the books themselves, and having them around doesn’t work,” he added. “You actually have to read them.”
Cooper announced his breakup from Maisani in March 2018 after nearly a decade together.