Two peas in a pod! Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper share everything from identical initials to similar professions, which makes it easy to see why the twosome are best friend goals.
The Watch What Happens Live host and Cooper first met in the early ’90s when they were almost set up on a blind date. However, the pair’s dynamic never became romantic because Cohen broke the CNN news anchor’s “cardinal rule” of dating — mentioning his socialite mother, Gloria Vanderbilt.
“Andy and I were first set up on a blind date, which never happened because we had a phone call and after two minutes I said, ‘I’m not dating this guy,’” Cooper recalled on Watch What Happens Live in December 2016. “He broke my cardinal rule … he mentioned my mom within the first four sentences of meeting me.”
Although the duo never went on a date, they forged a friendship that developed into an equally strong working relationship. Cohen and Cooper have hit the road together every year since 2016 for their conversational stage tour, “AC2: An Intimate Evening with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.” The Radio Andy host has also joined Cooper to cohost CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live since 2017.
Cohen and the Nothing Left Said author not only support each other professionally but have leaned on each other through the ups and downs of their personal lives. The Bravo exec shared a touching tribute in honor of Cooper’s mother, Gloria, when she died in June 2019.
“Gloria Vanderbilt was an amazing woman who lived a life filled with incredible peaks and impossible obstacles,” Cohen wrote at the time via Instagram. “Through it all she remained eternally optimistic with a wicked sense of humor. In fact, Anderson’s iconic and infectious giggle comes from his mom. Sending Anderson all my love, and may she Rest In Peace.”
Cooper was also by Cohen’s side — while still respecting social distancing guidelines — as the Bravo host recovered from coronavirus in April 2020. Cohen shared a photo of his pal riding by his New York City apartment via Instagram.
“This is about as close as I’ll be getting to @andersoncooper for a while…. (on 10x zoom lens btw!)” Cohen captioned the blurry photo.
The BFFs have also both achieved a major milestone —becoming parents. Cohen welcomed his son, Benjamin, via surrogate in February 2019. Cooper, for his part, announced the birth of his son, Wyatt, via surrogate in April 2020.
Cohen revealed via Instagram in May 2020 that he hopes their sons will “be best friends” when they get older — just like their dads. The Bravo producer has since welcomed daughter Lucy via surrogate while Cooper added son Sebastian to his brood.
Scroll down to see Cohen and Cooper’s sweetest BFF moments:
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram (2); Courtesy of Anderson Cooper/Instagram (2)
Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper’s Best BFF Moments Over the Years
Two peas in a pod! Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper share everything from identical initials to similar professions, which makes it easy to see why the twosome are best friend goals.
The Watch What Happens Live host and Cooper first met in the early ’90s when they were almost set up on a blind date. However, the pair’s dynamic never became romantic because Cohen broke the CNN news anchor’s “cardinal rule” of dating — mentioning his socialite mother, Gloria Vanderbilt.
“Andy and I were first set up on a blind date, which never happened because we had a phone call and after two minutes I said, ‘I’m not dating this guy,’” Cooper recalled on Watch What Happens Live in December 2016. “He broke my cardinal rule … he mentioned my mom within the first four sentences of meeting me.”
Although the duo never went on a date, they forged a friendship that developed into an equally strong working relationship. Cohen and Cooper have hit the road together every year since 2016 for their conversational stage tour, “AC2: An Intimate Evening with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.” The Radio Andy host has also joined Cooper to cohost CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live since 2017.
Cohen and the Nothing Left Said author not only support each other professionally but have leaned on each other through the ups and downs of their personal lives. The Bravo exec shared a touching tribute in honor of Cooper’s mother, Gloria, when she died in June 2019.
[jwplayer lYwkD6AN-zhNYySv2]
“Gloria Vanderbilt was an amazing woman who lived a life filled with incredible peaks and impossible obstacles,” Cohen wrote at the time via Instagram. “Through it all she remained eternally optimistic with a wicked sense of humor. In fact, Anderson’s iconic and infectious giggle comes from his mom. Sending Anderson all my love, and may she Rest In Peace.”
Cooper was also by Cohen’s side — while still respecting social distancing guidelines — as the Bravo host recovered from coronavirus in April 2020. Cohen shared a photo of his pal riding by his New York City apartment via Instagram.
“This is about as close as I’ll be getting to @andersoncooper for a while…. (on 10x zoom lens btw!)” Cohen captioned the blurry photo.
The BFFs have also both achieved a major milestone —becoming parents. Cohen welcomed his son, Benjamin, via surrogate in February 2019. Cooper, for his part, announced the birth of his son, Wyatt, via surrogate in April 2020.
Cohen revealed via Instagram in May 2020 that he hopes their sons will “be best friends” when they get older — just like their dads. The Bravo producer has since welcomed daughter Lucy via surrogate while Cooper added son Sebastian to his brood.
Scroll down to see Cohen and Cooper’s sweetest BFF moments:
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Talk Show Besties
The duo shared a social media video from their dressing room in December 2022 as they prepared for a joint appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
All Hallow’s Eve
The besties ran into each other at the park in October 2022 just days before Halloween.
Credit: Scott Gries/Bravo
BravoCon Bunch
Cooper made a surprise visit during BravoCon in October 2022.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Lucy’s New Bestie
“Uncle Anderson, keeping Lucy honest!” Cohen wrote via Instagram in May 2022 after his BFF bonded with his daughter, whom he welcomed via surrogate one month prior.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Baby Playdate
“Today we met our new pal Sebastian Maisani-Cooper! He’s a peaceful beauty,” the Real Housewives producer wrote via Instagram in February 2022. “Ben calls him ‘Wheels’! Mazel to Anderson & Benjamin ♥️.”
Credit: Courtesy of Anderson Cooper/Instagram
Strictly Platonic
“It’s not what our relationship is based on. We’re just friends. That’s not a part of it,” Cohen explained of their bond during a January 2022 interview on the Howard Stern Show. “At this point, we know each other too well. We’re not attracted to each other in that way. … He’s a handsome guy. We’re not in that place.”
Credit: Andrew Walker/Shutterstock
Shots All Around
“I was a hair over-served last night, but man did I have fun! I hope you did too,” Cohen playfully captioned a series of Instagram photos in January 2022 from his and Cooper’s CNN New Year’s Eve Live 2021-22 broadcast, referring to their shots shenanigans. “Happy New Year everybody.”
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
BFF B-Day
“Gemini Twins: ACTIVATE!” Cohen captioned a sweet video of the besties blowing out candles on a birthday cake in June 2021 via Instagram. “Happy Birthday to my friend, AC2 partner, and brilliant Daddy. Our lives are all better with you in them, Anderson. (Thanks to the Consuelos’ for the cakes; and to SJ, Liza, & Bruce for the surprise party!)”
The duo’s birthdays are separated by just one day. “Happy Birthday @bravoandy! So proud of all you’ve done, the person you are, and the dad you’ve become!” Cooper wrote in an Instagram tribute that month.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Plaid Pair
Cohen matched Cooper’s son while celebrating the little one’s 1st birthday in April 2021. “I love twinning with you,” he captioned the Instagram photo. “XO Uncle Andy.”
Credit: Courtesy Anderson Cooper/Instagram
Sneaky Son
Cooper described one of their kids’ playdates, telling Jimmy Kimmel in April 2021 that Benjamin put Wyatt’s teddy bear in the microwave and turned it on. “I mean, he baked the bear,” the New York native said. “It was in there for, like, 10 seconds. And literally, there was smoke coming out. Kids do the darnedest things.”
Credit: Courtesy Andy Cohen/Instagram
Best Pals
“Turns out, this is all the entertainment I ever needed!” Cohen captioned a March 2021 Instagram video of Cooper chasing Benjamin in circles.
Credit: Courtesy Andy Cohen/Instagram
Fun FaceTime
Cooper and Cohen called John Mayer on New Year’s Day. The Bravo personality captioned the January 2021 screenshot: “Lots of gratitude this morning and hope that we can reset into 2021.”
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Three’s Company
Anderson, Cohen and the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen host’s son, Ben, spent some time together ahead of their New Year’s Eve hosting gig in early December 2020. An Instagram video from their bonding moment showed the CNN correspondent mimicking a clapping stuffed monkey while his BFF’s baby boy looked on in amazement.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Playground Papas
The coronavirus pandemic didn’t stop Anderson and Cohen from getting together outside with sons Wyatt and Ben on the playground in October 2020.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Beach B(ae)FF
Although COVID-19 canceled Cohen’s usual summer travel plans, the TV personality still took a stroll down memory lane in September 2020. He shared a few throwback Instagram pics of his best pal Cooper sans a shirt. “If it were a normal year, I’d be on vacation with my pal…threatening to post shirtless pics of him. Well, it’s 2020 and I’m sitting on my deck so I figured I’d just post without asking and piss him off!” Cohen’s caption read.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Happy New Year
Cooper gave Cohen a playful kiss as they hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve special in January 2020.
Credit: Courtesy of Anderson Cooper/Instagram
Proud Papa
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! @bravoandy. So proud of all you’ve done, and for you and Baby Benjamin, it’s just the beginning,” Cooper captioned a June 2019 photo of himself holding Cohen’s son, Benjamin.
Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
Twinning
Cohen and Cooper looked identical in matching black suits and bowties in September 2018.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
TMI
Cohen revealed on Watch What Happens Live in 2018 that he and Cooper are “eskimo brothers,” a slang term that refers to two people who have been intimate with the same person.
Credit: Courtesy of Anderson Cooper/Instagram
Nautical Adventures
The friends were all smiles as they relaxed on a boat in Tahiti in July 2017.
Credit: Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
Island Greetings
The pair snapped a photo in the ocean while vacationing in Bora Bora in July 2017.
Credit: Courtesy of Anderson Cooper/Instagram
Palin’ Around
The duo stopped to snap a selfie in May 2016 with a forest background.
Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
AC Squared
The besties have been coheadlining their conversational stage tour — where they share anecdotes of their personal lives and careers — since 2016.
Credit: Courtesy of Anderson Cooper/Instagram
Sunset Views
Cooper and Cohen enjoyed the sunset together in August 2015 while they both were wearing white outfits.