Anderson Cooper Reveals Heartbreaking Details About Suffering From Childhood Trauma — 'I Ran From It, I Buried It, but It Doesn't Go Away'
Anderson Cooper is still dealing with the childhood trauma of suddenly losing his dad as a young boy.
Dec. 11 2025, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Anderson Cooper has shared a devastating confession that the childhood trauma he suffered after his father's death has made him very untrustworthy as an adult, a feeling that's left him constantly "exhausted," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The CNN host made the heartbreaking revelation during a Wednesday, December 10, appearance on Michelle Obama's IMO podcast, where the topic was "grief," and Cooper detailed his journey coping with gut-wrenching deaths in his family.
'Wary All The Time'
Cooper said he tried to run from grief but 'it doesn't go away.'
Cooper was only 10 years old when his dad, Wyatt Emery Cooper, died unexpectedly while undergoing heart surgery. He was 50 years old at the time.
When asked if he found "a way to grieve," Anderson replied, "I ran from it. I buried it, but it doesn't go away," about the loss of his beloved father so many years ago.
"And it has stopped me from being able to... I am wary all the time, which helps in my job at times," he noted, especially when it comes to covering stories in dangerous war zones.
"But it keeps me distant from people," the 60 Minutes correspondent explained about how he's still affected to this day.
Cooper said his untrustworthiness as an adult is 'not healthy'
Anderson revealed the trauma of losing his dad at such a young age has caused him to put up a protective wall around himself.
"Everything is a threat. Everything is seen through the lens for this 10-year-old boy that's still there. For me, this voice in my head is this voice that I developed to protect that little kid long ago," he confessed.
"And all the signals it sends me are, 'Hey, don't trust this person. You've got to be wary about this.' I read rooms like nobody's business. Any room I walk into, I clock everybody. Even if I'm not looking at them, even if it seems like I'm unaware," he shared about picking up vibes and signals from others.
"It's exhausting, and it's not healthy," the veteran newsman sighed.
Cooper's Family Tragedy
Cooper lost his beloved mom to cancer at the age of 95.
"I've been trying to figure out as an adult, how do you start to let go ... I don't want there to be a sadness behind my eyes like my mom had and that I saw," Anderson said about how he has been trying to cope with grief.
His mom, heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, was left a widow with two young sons when Wyatt died. She never remarried after his death despite having tied the knot three times before they wed in 1963.
Anderson and his mom suffered a second tragedy when his brother, Carter Cooper, died by suicide in July 1998 after jumping from the terrace of Vanderbilt's 14th-story penthouse in New York City. He was 23 years old at the time.
The former socialite and jeans designer died in 2019 at age 95 after a battle with stomach cancer.
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'10 Years Was Enough'
Cooper still feels thankful that he had 10 year with his late father.
While Anderson went on to be deeply affected by his father's death as an adult, he said he was incredibly grateful for the time they had together.
"I used to think growing up that I had 10 years. I mean, I was so young. But what I came to realize, among many things, is you know what, 10 years was enough," he revealed.
"I mean, I wanted more, I wish I'd had more. But in 10 years, he was able to give me that sense of 'This is what security feels like and this is what love feels like.' And that's, again, I wish I had more, but it's been extraordinary. To suddenly realize, 'Oh, you know what? It was enough."
