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Anderson Cooper’s son Wyatt Morgan Cooper was just born in April and is already winning titles. People magazine announced Thursday that he was named 2020’s Cutest Baby Alive!
It’s a big title to carry but well earned! Wyatt is a sweet angelic-looking baby with piercing blue eyes just like dad. The CNN anchor, 53, welcomed his first child, on Monday, April 27, and has been sharing his journey of fatherhood with the world on Instagram. PEOPLE shared some exclusive photos on their profile and captioned the post, “The cutest baby alive is ... Anderson Cooper‘s son Wyatt Morgan! ❤️ Little Wyatt is taking over the title of Cutest Baby Alive from his playdate companion: One of Cooper’s best friends — and fellow “playground dads” — Andy Cohen had his son Benjamin Allen crowned the cutest by PEOPLE in 2019.”
Cooper is one of the most prolific anchors with a hugely successful career but none of that compared to becoming a dad. He told PEOPLE in June, “It feels like my life has actually begun. I sort of wonder, what was I waiting for? This is a new level of love,” he continued. “It‘s unlike anything I’ve experienced, and yet it’s also very familiar and incredibly special and intimate. It’s really extraordinary... There’s something about having a child that makes you feel connected to what is happening and you want to make sure that the world this child is growing up in is a better one. You suddenly worry much more about the future of all of us,” Cooper said at the time.
Wyatt was born with the help of a surrogate and Cooper co-parents with his former partner and now best friend Benjamin Maisani. It may be an unconventional arrangement, but it works, and it’s beautiful. “There is no acrimony between us,” Cooper told PEOPLE for their Pride issue. “Even though it’s maybe unconventional because he’s my ex, he is my family. I knew what it was like growing up without a dad. If there was ever something that happened to me, I would want Wyatt to be surrounded by love.” Cooper also shared that being a father was something he could only dream of. “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.’ This is a dream come true.”
Anderson shared the big news with all his viewers on air in April on CNN. “It‘s been a difficult time in all of our lives, and there are certainly many hard days ahead. It is, I think, especially important in these times of trouble to try to hold on to moments of joy and moments of happiness,” the anchor said. “Even as we mourn the loss of loved ones, we’re also blessed with new life and new love. So, I just wanted to take a moment and share with you some joyful news of my own: On Monday, I became a father.” Cooper became overcome with emotion. “I’ve never actually said that before, out loud, and it still kind of astonishes me. I am a dad. I have a son, and I want you to meet him.” Then sweet photos of Wyatt showed on the screen. “I am so grateful for all those who paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son’s birth. Most of all, I am eternally grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, watched over him lovingly, tenderly, and gave birth to him. It’s an extraordinary blessing which she and all surrogates give to families who can’t have children.”
Cooper’s father Wyatt Emory Cooper died during heart surgery when he was 10. Cooper told CNN Wyatt was named after him and Wyatt’s middle name, Morgan, is in honor of his late parents too. “I know my mom and dad liked the name Morgan, because while I was going through her things recently, I found a list they‘d made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me. Morgan was on the list,” Cooper said. “So that’s Wyatt Morgan Cooper, my son.”
Cooper said that he wishes his parents and brother were alive to meet his son but he likes to imagine them all looking down on him. “I‘d like to believe that they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing and watching, looking down on us — happy to know that their love is alive in me, and in Wyatt, and that our family continues. A new life, and new love.”