Out Journalist Anderson Cooper Welcomes Newborn Son

Out journalist Anderson Cooper had some good news to share recently: he is now the father of a newborn son. The 52-year-old announced the news on CNN.

“It has been a difficult time in all of our lives…[But] even as we mourn the loss of loved ones, we are also blessed with new life and new love,” Cooper said. “On Monday [April 27], I became a father. I’ve never actually said that before, out loud, and it still astonishes me. I am a dad. I have a son.”

Cooper also shared pictures of his son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, on social media. He was named after Cooper’s father, Wyatt, who died when Cooper was 10, according to Vogue.

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I want to share with you some joyful news. On Monday, I became a father. This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old. He is named after my father, who died when I was ten. I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. My son's middle name is Morgan. It's a family name on my mom's side. I know my mom and dad liked the name morgan because I recently found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me. Wyatt Morgan Cooper. My son. He was 7.2 lbs at birth, and he is sweet, and soft, and healthy and I am beyond happy. As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I’m grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth. Most of all, I am grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, and watched over him lovingly, and tenderly, and gave birth to him. It is an extraordinary blessing – what she, and all surrogates give to families who cant have children. My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives I do wish my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues.

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“As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I’m grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son’s birth,” he wrote on Instagram. He also thanked Wyatt’s surrogate mother, who “watched over him lovingly, and tenderly, and gave birth to him.”

“It is an extraordinary blessing—what she and all surrogates give to families who can’t have children,” Cooper continued. “My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own…My family is blessed to have this family in our lives.”