Anderson Cooper recently called the final days with his mother Gloria Vanderbilt the “most extraordinary days of my life.”
During his first broadcast back on CNN since her passing, Cooper spoke about his beloved mom, telling viewers that she would “be stunned by all the attention and kind words spoken about her.”
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Speaking about his last days with her, Cooper said, “Being able to spend those nine days and nights with her was a great, great blessing. They were the most extraordinary days of my life, and I’m very grateful.”
“Though I was holding her hand and her head when she took her last breath, it’s still a little hard for me to believe that she’s gone,” he added.
“She never let fear or pain or loss prevent her from forging ahead, from moving forward. She always believed the best was yet to come.โ@AndersonCooper pays tribute to his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, who passed away at the age of 95. https://t.co/aKwerHuU9p pic.twitter.com/7EGIDbq5vq
โ Anderson Cooper 360ยฐ (@AC360) June 21, 2019
Cooper then explained that he is the last of his immediate family, saying, “My dad died when I was 10, and my brother when I was 21. She was the last of my immediate family, the last person who knew me from the beginning. They’re all gone and it feels very lonely right now. I hope they are at least together.”
“I’m happy that I was able to make the latter years of her life comfortable and fulfilling. When I die, that might be the thing I am most proud of,” he then confessed. “I’m happy that we left nothing unsaid between us.”
Vanderbilt passed away earlier this week, after suffering a brief battle with stomach cancer.
Following her passing, Cooper eulogized his mother in a video of her life that ran on his home network, saying, “Gloria Vanderbilt lived her entire life in the public eye. Born in 1924, her father, Reginald Vanderbilt, was heir to the Vanderbilt railroad fortune, but gambled away most of his inheritance, and died when my mom was just a baby. Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, her mother, wasn’t ready to be a mom or a widow.”
“My mom grew up in France, not knowing anything about the Vanderbilt family or the money that she would inherit when she turned 21,” he added, then stating, “She had no idea the trouble that money would create.”
Vanderbilt was 95-years-old at the time of her death, and reportedly retained a net-worth of $200 million.