Anderson Cooper has kept much of his personal life private over the years, but his relationship with businessman Benjamin Maisani has remained an important part of his story. The pair dated from 2009 to 2018 before ending their romantic relationship, though they have continued to stay close while co-parenting Cooper’s two sons, Wyatt and Sebastian.
In recent years, Cooper has frequently spoken about fatherhood and his strong bond with Maisani, whom he once described as his “best friend.” The longtime CNN anchor even revealed that spending more time with his children played a major role in his decision to leave CBS’ 60 Minutes in 2026 after nearly two decades on the program.
So where do Anderson and Benjamin stand today, and who else has Cooper been linked to over the years? Find out more about the journalist’s dating history and family life below.
Benjamin, a Hunter College grad, and Anderson Cooper’s romance began in 2009, though the circumstances of how they meant aren’t confirmed. The couple did not go public with their relationship until 2015, three years after Anderson came out as gay. Anderson and Benjamin made several public appearances together while they were dating and also enjoyed some vacations as a couple, including trips to Venice, Italy and Tahiti in 2017.
In March 2018, Anderson announced he split from Benjamin.
“Benjamin and I separated as boyfriends some time ago, we are still family to each other, and love each other very much,” he told Entertainment Tonight.
However, the NYC bar owner and the journalist have continued their journey and have been on great terms. In fact, Benjamin has been a co-parent to Anderson’s 1-year-old son Wyatt Cooper ever since the little one was born in April 2020. The two even still live together in the Big Apple raising baby Wyatt. “There is no acrimony between us,” Anderson told PEOPLE last year of his relationship with Benjamin. “Even though it’s maybe unconventional because he’s my ex, he is my family.” The political commentator added, “While we were a couple, he wasn’t sure he wanted kids, which was one of the issues we’d always had. But when I decided, ‘I’m just going to do this,’ he started to be interested.”
So would the exes ever get back together? That seems to be a definitive no. Ellen DeGeneres asked Anderson just that while she was interviewing him on her talk show in February 2021. “No, that’s not gonna happen!” Anderson confidently responded. However, Anderson did once again applaud his ex in the interview, saying that Benjamin “is such a great parent.”
