Anderson Cooper's mum Gloria Vanderbilt always wanted him to have a baby but died before grandson's birth
Anderson Cooper revealed last week that he had welcomed his first child via surrogacy — a son named Wyatt Morgan Cooper — less than a year after his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, died at age 95. While she never got to meet her grandson, Vanderbilt has always urged her son to become a father.
During the premiere of their HBO documentary 'Nothing Left Unsaid,' in 2016, the heiress told Entertainment Tonight that "of course" she wanted Cooper to have kids, adding, "I just hope I'm still alive."
Since he had no plans of embracing fatherhood at the time, Cooper joked about his mother's desire at the time. "Thanks for bringing this up. This is an ongoing issue," he replied with a laugh. "Doesn't every mother want their kid to have [a kid]? Yes. I've heard this many times, believe me. The clock is ticking."
In the same interview, he also reflected on how he will be different from his mother if he were to become a father one day.
"I'm not as open as my mom is," he said. "I don't reflect much on the past. I'm focused on the future and planning and preparing for what's coming next, whereas my mom is very much in the past and thinks about things that happen and kind of reworks them."
Sadly enough, although Vanderbilt got her wish fulfilled at long last, she was not alive to witness the little bundle of joy for herself. Nevertheless, Cooper did not forget to remember all his family members who missed out on the moment when he welcomed his son into the world.
"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," he captioned an Instagram post on May 1, which featured a picture of him feeding his newborn son.
In the post, he also delved into the history of his son's middle name that had close ties to his mum and his dad, who died when Anderson Cooper was 10 years old. "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 wrote.
After hoping aloud that he would be as good a father to his son as his father was to him, he thanked everyone who made the incredible journey possible.
"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," he added.