Anderson Cooper Welcomes Baby Boy Via Surrogate: 'I Am Beyond Happy'

Anderson Cooper is a dad — surprise!

The longtime news anchor, 52, revealed the happy news on Instagram Thursday alongside a slideshow of photos of his son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper.

Cooper welcomed Wyatt — who is named after the journalist's father — on Monday via surrogate, he said. The host also revealed his big news on his show Anderson Cooper 360°.

Wyatt weighed 7.2 lbs. at birth, "and he is sweet, and soft, and healthy and I am beyond happy," the proud new dad said in his emotional announcement on CNN.

"He is named after my father, who died when I was ten," Cooper explained. "I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. 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."

Cooper shared that he never thought fatherhood would be a possibility for him while he was growing up.

"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," he wrote. "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."

"It is an extraordinary blessing - what she, and all surrogates give to families who can't have children," he said. "My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives."

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The CNN anchor added that while he wishes his parents and brother Carter were alive to meet little Wyatt, "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 said.

Cooper's good friend Andy Cohen — who welcomed his son Benjamin Allen via surrogate last year — celebrated Wyatt's arrival on Instagram as well.

"'new life, new hope!'" Cohen, 51, wrote alongside a photo of Cooper and baby. "Wyatt Cooper, you couldn’t have come at a better time! I know a friend who can’t wait to meet you! ♥️"