Anderson Cooper Reveals Struggle Handling Grief After Losing Family

CNN reporter Anderson Cooper recently revealed how he handled grief while dealing with the loss of two people important to him. The 55-year-old currently has two children who he is raising with his parenting partner and best friend, Benjamin Maisani.

Cooper lost his famous father when he was only ten and endured a similar loss over a decade later when one of his three brothers committed suicide in his mother's apartment.

The news station anchor shared that during those trying periods, he resorted to withdrawing into himself and tried to cope by ignoring his feelings. Having his two sons, two-year-old Wyatt and seven-month-old Sebastian, reportedly changed his outlook on things and made him more open to talking about his grief.

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Cooper admitted on his new podcast "All There Is with Anderson Cooper" (via People) that while trying to deal with the grief that came with losing his father and older brother, he tried to avoid looking too deep into his feelings and coped that way until having his two sons. "I just sort of retreated deep into myself. I didn't talk to people about it. I just became very introspective and introverted," the reporter said.

After his children came into his life, the 55-year-old tried to cultivate a better way to handle grief in order to be better for his children. "I don't want to pass along to my kids any of my own failures or limitations. I want to be the best parent I can be, and I realized that the way I dealt with loss was effective for the time that it occurred, but that stuff catches up with you. You have to face it at some point."

Cooper revealed that he started being more conversant about it and learned ways to help himself. The CNN host recently launched his podcast, "All There Is with Anderson Cooper," where he will talk about grief and loss and how one can cope.

He added, "It's not really discussed openly, but grief is a bond that we all share. I realized this is something we all go through, or all will go through in one way or another."

Cooper first experienced loss at just 10 years old when his father, Wyatt, passed away during open heart surgery in 1973. He was 50 years old at the time of his death and a well-known author as well as a screenwriter.

Cooper talked about losing his father at such a young age in 2016, revealing that it shaped who he was now, which according to him, was less open and interesting than he could have been.

The anchor went through a similar heartbreaking loss in 1988 when Carter, one of his three brothers, died aged 23. The death was reportedly suicide and occurred when the 23-year-old jumped out of his mother's Gloria Vanderbilt's terrace on her 14th-floor apartment in New York. His mother witnessed the incident.

Cooper once again spoke on the death in 2014, revealing that Carter was so much smarter when he was alive, and taking his life was "inconceivable" to him.

The 55-year-old joined People for an interview in 2021 and revealed that he was still greatly affected by Carter's loss. The father of two said, "Any time you lose a loved one, especially when you're younger, it alters the trajectory of your life."

The 55-year-old continued, "It's inconceivable to me that my brother died in 1988, and I've lived more of my life without him than I have with him. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about what he would be doing, who he would be, and I still think about his death and have questions about it."

Cooper revealed that his mother, who witnessed the suicide, did not fare much better and was reportedly "stunned" by the turn of events till she died in 2019. "There are some things that never can be answered, and you have to find a way to live in that space of not knowing, or not fully understanding," he said.

In June, Cooper posted pictures with his two baby boys, Wyatt and Sebastian, revealing that he felt fortunate to have his children while he clocked 55. In the first picture he posted on Instagram, Cooper was seen with Wyatt while the two-year-old gave a thumbs up. The second picture showed him with Sebastian in a selfie.

The post's caption read, "Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes. I feel so blissfully happy and lucky to have these two sweet, funny, little boys in my life."

The father of two first announced Sebastian in February during his show. Cooper started by sharing a picture of Wyatt and said, "If he looks particularly happy in this picture, it's because he now has a baby brother." The 55-year-old revealed the baby's name and the involvement of Maisani in raising him.