Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen: Friends, Not a Couple

Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are not a romantic couple. The CNN anchor and the Bravo host are close friends who have worked together professionally for over a decade and both men have said, more than once, that a romantic connection was never part of their story.

Their bond has generated persistent speculation online, partly because they co-host CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast, tour together on stage, and raise their children as parallel single fathers in New York City. The question comes up often. The answer has been consistent every time either man has been asked.

What Actually Happened Before They Met in Person

The setup for a possible blind date did take place back in the 1990s. But it ended before the two men ever met face to face.

On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Cooper described a phone call arranged before their first in-person meeting. "I knew within 45 seconds I was never going on a date with Andy Cohen," he said. The reason: Cohen asked about Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, within the first minute of the call. Cooper cited that as a violation of a personal rule. Cohen, for his part, later acknowledged he could tell the call had gone wrong: "Something that I did made him shut down, so now I know."

No date followed. No romance followed either. According to Bravo's official account of their relationship history, the two later developed a genuine friendship through a shared social group that travelled internationally together in the early 2000s. That friendship deepened over years of professional collaboration.

Cohen said it plainly on the Table for Two podcast: "We've known each other for years. But I would say in the last 15 years, we've gotten much closer because he's been able to kind of guide me as I've been in front of the camera." In a 2022 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Cohen addressed the romantic rumours directly: "We're just friends. That's not a part of it. I think, at this point, we know each other too well. We're not attracted to each other in that way."

What Cooper and Cohen Actually Share

They have built a collaboration that spans television, live theatre, and parenthood not a marriage.

The AC2: An Intimate Evening with Anderson Cooper & Andy Cohen touring show began in 2015, taking the pair across the country for unscripted conversations in front of live audiences. CNN's New Year's Eve Live, which they have co-hosted together since 2017, remains one of the network's most-watched annual broadcasts, with their unscripted exchanges and tequila-shot tradition drawing consistent commentary each December. A July 3, 2026 CNN special, Independence Eve Live with Anderson & Andy: Celebrating 250, was scheduled from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET in Times Square, according to People. Confirmed AC2 dates continued into late 2026, including October 10 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. and November 14 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

Outside of work, the two men take family trips together and have described their children as close friends. Cooper's sons, Wyatt and Sebastian, spend time with Cohen's children, Ben and Lucy. The four have vacationed together, including a trip to Disney World. "I love watching him be the dad that he is," Cooper told Parade. "And I think he's amazing at it."

Cohen's description of Cooper carries similar warmth without anything romantic: "I think he is very loyal. He is very kind. He is incredibly sensitive in ways that people don't understand."

Andy Cohen's Confirmed Relationship in 2026

Any ambiguity about Cohen's romantic life ended in June 2026, when he confirmed publicly that he had been in a relationship for nearly a year.

On the June 8, 2026 episode of his SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live, Cohen told listeners he had met someone at a Fourth of July party in 2025. "I almost didn't go to the party," he said. "I never get invited to gay parties in the Hamptons anymore, and I was like, 'You know what? Let me just go.'" He spotted the man across the room, approached him, and made sure his phone number was entered correctly before the night ended.

"I want to make sure this number is right," Cohen recalled saying twice.

Entertainment Weekly and People both identified Cohen's boyfriend as Kevin Sobieski, a New York City-based businessman. Cohen himself did not publicly name Sobieski during his on-air announcement. The two had been photographed holding hands outside Via Carota restaurant in New York's West Village on June 2, 2026 Cohen's 58th birthday. Bravo's official coverage confirmed the relationship details, including their meeting story and how Cohen had introduced his new partner to his children.

Cohen described the 11-month relationship in terms that were deliberate and measured. "This man is kind and strong and smart, and he is an adult, and he loves my children, and they love him. And I love him," he said on air. He added that across 11 months, the two had not had a single disagreement: "We just view life in the same way."

Cohen has two children son Ben, 7, and daughter Lucy, 4 both born via gestational surrogate. He said the introduction of his new partner to Ben and Lucy had been intentionally gradual: "We have been so slow and deliberate and methodical about getting to know each other and introducing him into the equation of my family."

Anderson Cooper's Family and Relationship History

Cooper's romantic life has received less attention in recent years, partly because he has described himself as choosing to focus on his children.

Cooper, who came out as gay in a 2012 letter to journalist Andrew Sullivan, was in a relationship with French-born businessman Benjamin Maisani for nearly a decade. He confirmed their separation publicly in March 2018, telling People: "Benjamin and I separated as boyfriends some time ago. We are still family to each other, and love each other very much. We remain the best of friends, and will continue to share much of our lives together."

The two men became co-parents after Cooper's first son, Wyatt Morgan Maisani-Cooper, was born on April 27, 2020. Cooper announced the birth on CNN on April 30, 2020. Wyatt's first name honours Cooper's father, writer Wyatt Emory Cooper, who died when Anderson was ten years old. A second son, Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper, arrived in 2022. People reports that Maisani adopted Wyatt and that both boys use the Maisani-Cooper surname.

Cooper has said different feelings about wanting children contributed to the end of his relationship with Maisani. "He wasn't really sure he wanted to have a kid, which is one of the reasons we probably broke up," he said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021. Yet Maisani became an active co-parent. The two share homes in New York City and Connecticut. Cooper described Maisani as his "partner in parenthood."

In a December 2025 appearance on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live, Cooper was asked directly about his dating life. "I'm not gonna date, I'm not looking. I'm just trying to get through the day," he told Cohen and the audience. When pressed further, he added: "Who has the time? I got kids. I don't know." No verified public statement or credible report identifies a current romantic partner.

Cooper's Mother and Family Background

Cooper is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, the American heiress, fashion designer, artist, and socialite. The Associated Press reported that Vanderbilt died on June 17, 2019 at age 95, after a private battle with stomach cancer. Cooper spoke openly about his grief in multiple television interviews in the months that followed, and in 2022 channelled those reflections into All There Is with Anderson Cooper, a CNN Audio podcast in which he interviews other notable figures about loss, beginning with recordings made while packing up Vanderbilt's apartment.

The blind-date incident in the 1990s where Cohen's immediate question about Vanderbilt ended any prospect of romance before it began is a story Cooper has told in multiple interviews over the years. Cohen has acknowledged it too, and the two men have publicly revisited it on their AC2 tour.

What Cooper Left Behind at CBS

Cooper ended his association with CBS News' 60 Minutes in May 2026, with his final appearance airing on May 17, 2026. He had joined the programme during the 2006-2007 season in a part-time arrangement alongside his CNN role. In a statement announcing his departure, Cooper cited his children directly: "For nearly twenty years, I've been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me."

He remains at CNN.