Meet Anderson Cooper’s ex Benjamin Maisani: he owns nightclubs, has an eye for art, and lives with Cooper to co-parent their 2 sons despite breaking up with the CNN anchor in 2018

Cooper, 57, has two children, whom he co-parents with his ex-partner, businessman Benjamin Maisani, 52. The couple dated for nearly a decade before announcing their split in 2018. In 2020, when Cooper – who was single at the time – announced he had welcomed a child via surrogacy, he also confirmed that he would be co-parenting with his ex-partner.

From unconventional relationships to being an under-the-radar club king and doting dad, here is what you need to know about Maisani.

Maisani and Cooper were long-time lovers …

The couple met in 2009, according to People. While it’s not clear when they started dating, Maisani first made an indirect reference to their relationship in 2014, saying on a French talk show, “I understand that it interests people, but it doesn’t interest me … I never wanted to be a celebrity.” The pair seemingly confirmed their relationship in 2015 with a series of red-carpet appearances, following those up with social media posts in subsequent years.

But in March 2018, Cooper told People he and Maisani had split “as boyfriends some time ago” but were “still family to each other, and love each other very much”. He added, “We remain the best of friends and will continue to share much of our lives together.”

… and still live together, despite the break-up

Break-up or not, Maisani and Cooper still live together to co-parent their two sons. They have properties in New York and Connecticut and in 2023 Cooper told People it was the “best time in my life”. He described co-parenting with his ex as “very natural” and said he enjoyed the rituals his modern family had created together. “I work nights, and so he’s there at night. And we both wake up right before they wake up, get them their milk and spend the first couple of hours of the day just us with them,” Cooper explained.