They're close friends. They work together. Their children hang out. But, have Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper ever dated? Nope. Actually, they were supposed to go on a date when they first met, but they became friends instead. As both TV hosts have confirmed in the past, their relationship has always been purely platonic, and in a new interview, Cohen shared the reason why.
Cohen and Cooper recently hosted CNN New Year's celebration show for the fifth time together. This put their friendship in the spotlight again—particularly because a tipsy Cohen made headlines for being "overserved" on live TV—and so Cohen was once again asked about the idea of dating Cooper when he appeared on The Howard Stern Show earlier this week. Read on to see what the Bravo star had to say about why he and Cooper have never pursued a relationship.
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They're just friends and always have been.
CNN / YouTubeWhen Cohen appeared on this radio show, Howard Stern asked him, "What is it about Anderson Cooper that keeps you from falling in love with him?" Cohen replied, "I just think it’s not what our relationship is based on. 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."
When Stern asked if it's Cooper's white hair that doesn't attract him, Cohen joked, "The translucence?" He added, "No, he's a handsome guy ... We’re not in that place."
They were once supposed to go on a blind date.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / YouTubeIn 2017, Cohen and Cooper were both interviewed on The Tonight Show, and they shared that they first came into contact when they were set up on a blind date. "You know when straight people know two gay guys, they’re like, 'Oh, you guys should meet,'” Cooper said. But, when the two had a phone call to setup the date, Cooper said that he "knew within 45 seconds I was never going on a date with Andy Cohen." He went on, "Andy violated my cardinal rule. He asked me about my mom within the first minute of talking to me."
Cooper's late mother is designer and Vanderbilt family heir Gloria Vanderbilt. "I wanted to date the Vanderbilt boy! I was excited!" Cohen explained.
They've known each other a very long time.
Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesCooper and Cohen's original blind date plan was a long time ago, because they've now been friends for a quarter of a century. In recent years, they have performed a touring show together called AC², in addition to hosting the CNN New Year's show.
"We’ve been friends for 25 years. We've traveled the world together. We have so many intersections of pop culture and world events," Cohen told Build Series of their show. "There are stories that we wouldn’t tell anywhere else."
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Their kids are buddies, too.
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen / YouTubeCohen and Cooper both have young children, who met for the first time virtually on Cohen's show Watch What Happens Live in 2020. During the show, Cohen told his son, "Ben, this is Wyatt Cooper. He’s going to be your good buddy. We're going to travel together. And if you like him half as much as I like his daddy, you're going to be great friends."
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