CNN’s Emmy-winning anchor Anderson Cooper has been a father for seven months, after welcoming his mini-me son Wyatt Morgan, via surrogate, earlier this year.
And, on Friday, the 53-year-old doting dad opened up about parenthood during an interview with Bruce Bozzi on SiriusXM’s Quarantined with Bruce.
As Cooper reflected on waiting to have a child until he felt ‘really ready,’ he admitted to wishing he ‘had done it sooner.’
Enjoying every moment: Anderson Cooper opened up about wishing he had a child sooner in a new interview with Bruce Bozzi on SiriusXM’s Quarantined with Bruce on Friday
‘It’s extraordinary to me,’ he gushed of life with his baby boy. ‘I’ve been, been able to spend the whole, days. I mean, all my time with him really, you know, during this pandemic and it’s just, it’s been amazing.’
The former night owl, who hosts an evening news show, also admitted he had ‘never woken up early in the morning’ before bringing home his bundle of joy.
‘I, now, like bolt out of bed at 7:00 without an alarm clock or 6:30. And I want to be there when he [Wyatt] wakes up at 8:45,’ Cooper explained.
Doting dad: As Cooper reflected on waiting to have a child until he felt ‘really ready,’ he admitted to just wishing he ‘had done it sooner’
He marveled: ‘I just love every aspect of it and it’s just truly the greatest thing ever. And I sort of just feel like I, what was I doing before?’
Ahead of hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Andy Cohen for a 4th consecutive time in two weeks, he reflected on previously hating the holiday.
‘My dad died a couple of days after New Year’s Eve, January 5th in 1978. And so, I remember that New Year’s Eve distinctly, cause he was in the hospital and it was so like terrifying,’ he recalled, noting the night became one of ‘terror’ and ‘sadness.’
‘It’s extraordinary to me,’ he gushed of life with his baby boy. ‘I’ve been, been able to spend the whole, days. I mean, all my time with him really, you know, during this pandemic and it’s just, it’s been amazing’
However, after ‘CNN needed somebody one year’ to host nearly two decades ago, he said he ‘volunteered’ because ‘it’s such a bad night to go out in New York generally.’
‘I just started working it and I actually found out I love being in Times Square on New Year’s Eve,’ he revealed.
Over the summer, he talked about how fatherhood had changed him, like encouraging him to meditate in the morning instead of scrolling through Twitter.
Honest: The former night owl, who hosts an evening news show, also admitted he had ‘never woken up early in the morning’ until having a child
Speaking to WSJ. Magazine in August, he said his son – who was already sleeping 12 hours a night thanks to his ‘amazing nurse’ at four-months-old – gave him a new purpose in life.
‘It’s changed everything,’ he admitted. ‘I’ve often in my life felt like I was waiting for my actual life to begin – it’s obviously ridiculous because I’m 53 years old – but… I’ve been very focused on getting to some place, getting a story. Because I’m focused on him, it gives an order to everything.’
He also said that he’s usually able to squeeze in 30 to 45 minutes of meditation before his little one, who sleeps on the floor above him, wakes up.
Perky parent: Cooper said since being a father to son Wyatt he’s become ‘addicted’ to coffee, in an interview with WSJ. Magazine over the summer; seen in 2018
‘I live in a 110-year-old firehouse in New York and I’m on the third floor and he’s on the fourth floor. So I go up and I wait around for him to make sounds and then go into his room to be there,’ Anderson said.
His early starts have also got Anderson hooked on coffee – enjoying a cup from Dunkin’ Donuts – to get him going in the morning, admitting that he’s been skipping breakfast due to being on a fasting diet.
‘I’ve become addicted to coffee, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. I allow myself one to two coffees a day: iced coffee, black and nothing else in it because that’s not breaking the fast,’ he said.
Precious son: Wyatt was born via a surrogate in April this year