Andy Cohen is the prince of New Yearâs Eve. The Bravo executive has been co-hosting CNNâs New Yearâs Eve Live with Anderson Cooper since 2017. And while Andy stays up late on the last night of the year in Times Square, his two children who âhave changedâ him âin every wayâ will be fast asleep in his Manhattan home.
Andy, 57, has two kids â Ben, six, and Lucy, three â who he welcomed via surrogate. In 2023, the Watch What Happens Live! host opened up to CBS News about parenting, saying: âI think my priorities have completely shifted. I think my sense of accomplishment has totally changed. And even just getting your kids breakfast and getting them out to school, when I drop him off at school, Iâm like, âYou did it, dude! That was a rough two-and-a-half hours, you know?'â
As Andy prepares for his big night, join HELLO! as we take a look back at his adorable family and how the single dad came to be a parent.
As a fellow St. Louisan, we are proud to claim Andy as one of our own. In 2023, he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. During the ceremony, he said: âThereâs no place like home. And thereâs no place like the legendary strip in U City, The Loop, right here in St. Louis, my home town.â
The multi-hyphenate was born on June 2, 1968 in the Midwestern city to his parents Evelyn and Lou. Andy graduated from Clayton High School in 1986 before heading to the East Coast for college.
He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, where he wrote for their student newspaper. After college, he moved to New York City where he worked in network television for 10 years.
Andy came out to his parents in 1988 when he was 20. He recounted his experience growing up as a gay person in the â80s to Joy Behar. âI graduated from high school in 1986 at a time where there werenât really any gay people on TV,â Andy said, adding: ââThe bottom line is I ultimately got the power through some friends that I came out to then come out to my parents. It was one of the scariest things that Iâve ever done.â
An hour after he made the revelation, Andyâs mom said: âYou know I would have hated your wife anyway.'â
He didnât know what path would take him to fatherhood, but âhaving [a family of his] ownâ was âsomething thatâ he wanted for his âentire life.â
Andy welcomed his son, Benjamin âBenâ Cohen in 2019 via surrogate. He is named after Andyâs grandfather. The single dad was in the delivery room for Benâs birth and cut the umbilical cord himself.Â
âHe was so alert for the first two hours. His eyes were wide open. He didnât cry; he was just calm. I kind of have no words for it,â Andy told People at the time.Â
During Benâs early years, his dad shared many photos to Instagram â especially Andyâs famous friends like Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa, and Denise Richards. In 2023, Andy chose to stop sharing photos of his kids to social media, saying: âPeople need to understand that my kids are not me and they didnât sign up for this. Iâm figuring it out as I go.â
Ben is now six and a loving older brother to his little sister.
Three years after he welcomed Ben, Andyâs daughter was born. Lucy Eve Cohen was also born via surrogacy and is the biological sibling of her older brother. When she was just five months old, Lucy made an appearance at BravoCon â the annual three-day fan convention celebrating the Bravo Network.
Lucy is absolutely adorable and loves to relax with her family. After becoming a dad-of-two, Andy opened up about his shift into total parenthood.Â
âJust when I think Iâve had a lot of really quality time with Ben, I have to go to Lucy and sit with her and I just want to look in her face and I want her to see me and hear my voice and know that Iâm here,â he explained. âItâs just about juggling time management with the two of them.â