Anderson Cooper Told Mom Gloria He Was Having a Baby Before Her Death

Before Anderson Cooper welcomed his baby boy, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, on April 27, he told his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, that he was going to be a father ahead of her June 2019 death.

“I was able to tell her shortly before she died that I was going to have a baby,” the Anderson Cooper 360 star, told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest on Monday, May 4. “[My son], Wyatt, hadn’t been created, was not a being at that point, but I had the idea in my head. I was in the process.”

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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.

A post shared by andersoncooper (@andersoncooper) on Apr 30, 2020 at 6:51pm PDT

Sadly, Gloria died from stomach cancer at age 95. Although she never got to meet her grandson, Anderson, 52, paid homage to his mom and late dad, Wyatt Cooper, by naming his kid after them.

“I hope I can be as good a dad as he was,” the TV personality said via Instagram on Thursday, April 30. “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.”

Not having his mom around has been incredibly hard on the CNN star. In June 2019, Anderson opened up about what his life has been like without Gloria when he spoke to his studio audience on his talk show.

“My dad died when I was 10, and my brother when I was 21. She was the last of my immediate family, the last person who knew me from the beginning,” he said. “They’re all gone and it feels very lonely right now. I hope they are at least together.”

The dad of one also revealed he was by his mother’s side when she died. “Being able to spend those nine days and nights with her was a great, great blessing. They were the most extraordinary days of my life, and I’m very grateful,” the New York native shared. “Though I was holding her hand and her head when she took her last breath, it’s still a little hard for me to believe that she’s gone.”

Gloria’s legacy lives on in Anderson and her grandson, Wyatt.