CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who discreetly came out earlier this month — to great fanfare — is rumored to be planning a Labor Day weekend marriage in New York City to his partner of at least four years, Ben Maisani. Cooper, who is 45, has been with Maisani, a local Manhattan club owner, since at least 2009, according to a report in the U.K.’s Daily Mail, which refers to a source at the Enquirer:
‘He’d been considering breaking the news [about being gay] since same-sex marriage became legal in the state of New York last summer,’ a source told the Enquirer.
‘It’s been about a year now and he wants to get married to Ben. They’re totally committed to one another.’
French-born Maisani, 39, lives with Cooper in his converted fire station townhouse and together they enjoy a low-key lifestyle – workouts at Chelsea’s David Barton Gym and dinners with friends, including Kelly Ripa, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.
They showed off their affection for each other while dining in Morandi in New York’s West Village on Sunday. They enjoyed dinner with Bravo host Andy Cohen, who is also openly gay.
Of course, this is all rumor, and the Enquirer last year reported Cooper’s mother, millionaire heiress and fashion icon Gloria Vanderbilt, desperately wanted the two to marry:
CNN journo ANDERSON COOPER’s famous mom GLORIA VANDERBILT is pushing him to marry his boyfriend – so she can get another grandchild, The ENQUIRER has learned.
Fashion designer Gloria helped the CNN anchor, 44,  mend his crumbling relationship with club owner Benjamin Maisini, 38, amid quarrels over their taxing work schedules.
“Anderson and Ben are in love, but they were on the verge of breaking up,†an insider told The ENQUIRER.
“Between Anderson’s dangerous work assignments and Ben’s crazy hours at the club, the guys reached an impasse.â€
That’s when Anderson’s 87-year-old mom who’s best known for her 1980s jeans line worked some major mom mojo.
“At her age, Gloria is desperate to see her son settle down and make a family. So she got right in the middle of things, and reminded each of them how lucky they are to have found love and to stop being so demanding,†the source divulged.
Also, today The Huffington Post reported Cooper’s “spur of the moment” coming out was a long-time in the making:
Anderson Cooper caught everyone by surprise when he revealed he was gay on July 2 in an email to Andrew Sullivan that was shared with the public. But behind the scenes, months of conversations went into planning how, where and when the TV anchor would come out.
“They wanted this to seem like it was a spur of moment decision where he said he ultimately decided to come out because he was doing more harm than good,” one insider told me. “That might be true, but before he came out he had a long discussion with his team making sure he wasn’t committing career suicide.”
All this said, we promise to not report any more rumor or gossip for a long time.
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Hat-tip: Towleroad
Related:Â
Michelangelo Signorile Discusses Anderson Cooper’s ‘Coming Out Quietly’
Kathy Griffin Is Worried About Her Now Out BFF Anderson Cooper
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