Andy Cohen emotionally reveals on live TV that he’s going to be a dad
Andy Cohen revealed the good news on last night’s episode of his Bravo show (bravoandy/instagram)
Andy Cohen has revealed live on his talk show that he’s going to be a father.
In an emotional speech directly to the camera, the 50-year-old US host of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen told his viewers on Thursday (December 20) that having a child was “something that I have wanted in my heart my entire life.”
Cohen explained to the audience that he has “always tried to be as transparent as possible about my life.
“I cannot wait for what I envision to be the most rewarding chapter yet”
— Andy Cohen
“I overshare and I expect everyone around me to do the same, and tonight, I want you to be the first to know that after many years of careful deliberation, a fair amount of prayers and the benefit of science, if all goes according to plan, in about six weeks’ time I am going to become a father.”
Enormous applause greeted this announcement, which the Emmy Award-winning producer followed by saying his welcome news was all “thanks to a wonderful surrogate who is carrying my future.”
“Family means everything to me and having one of my own is something that I have wanted in my heart my entire life,” Cohen said.
“And though it’s taken me longer than most to get there, I cannot wait for what I envision to be the most rewarding chapter yet.”
Andy Cohen joins other celebrities in using surrogacy
Married couple Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black revealed in February that they were expecting a child through surrogacy, posting an Instagram photo of them holding an ultrasound.
However, the Valentine’s Day announcement from the Olympic diver and Oscar-winning screenwriter drew a tidal wave of hate from people who didn’t believe gay men should be fathers and called their happy news “disgusting” and “child abuse.”
Figures in the right-wing press slammed the pair too, with Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn insisting that gay parenting was “not normal” and telling readers to “pass the sick bag.”
Andy Cohen will be a dad in around six weeks, at 50 years of age (Theo Wargo/Getty)
LGBT+ people seeking to become parents still face legal obstacles in many countries, including Israel, where the government’s refusal to open up surrogacy to queer parents led to nationwide protests in July.
In Italy, where same-sex adoption is not legal, queer couples were told in August by deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini that they were “unnatural” and that surrogacy was “a horror.”
Salvini, the far-right leader of the Northern League party, also vowed to keep all families heterosexual and said he was “firmly against” marriage equality in the Catholic country, which only allows same-sex unions.
