Andy Cohen Welcomes Son Benjamin Allen Via Surrogate

Andy Cohen is officially a father! The Watch What Happens Live host announced Monday that he had welcomed his first child via a surrogate earlier that day.

The Bravo boss, 50, shared a photo of himself holding his son, Benjamin Allen, on Instagram, revealing that he had been born at 6:35 p.m. PT, weighing in at 9 lbs., 2 oz., and measuring 20 in. long.

Cohen also revealed that Benjamin Allen is a special name coming from his grandfather on his mother’s side, whose name was Ben Allen.

“WOW! This is my son, Benjamin Allen Cohen,” he captioned the photo, adding, “He is named after my grandfather Ben Allen. I’m in love. And speechless. And eternally grateful to an incredible surrogate. And I’m a dad. Wow.”

Cohen announced he was expecting a baby via a surrogate on a Dec. 20 episode of WWHL alongside original Real Housewives stars, Vicki Gunvalson, Ramona Singer, NeNe Leakes, Kyle Richards and Teresa Giudice.

“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’m going to become a father,” he said at the time.

“Thanks to a wonderful surrogate who is carrying my future,” he continued. “Family means everything to me and having one of my own is something that I have wanted in my heart for my entire life. And though it’s taken me longer than most to get there, I cannot wait for what I envision will be the most rewarding chapter yet.”

During CNN’s New Year’s Eve show, Cohen told friend and co-host Anderson Cooper that he would be having a son, saying, “It’s a boy and I got to tell you something, I cannot wait to meet this boy.”

“When I was growing up and when we were growing up … I just never thought it would be possible, as a gay man, to grow up and have a family,” he continued. “And here we are in 2018, almost [2019], and anything’s possible. And I’m so grateful to a wonderful surrogate that I’m working with.”

He added, “By the way, by the time it became possible, I was kind of having too much fun in my life to say, ‘I don’t think I can do this right now.’ But here I am, I turned 50 this year. It takes some people longer to get to that place. And it took me that time.”

Two weeks ago, Cohen celebrated his baby shower at what has been called the Super Bowl for Bravo fans—a party featuring dozens of Real Housewives stars and cast members, as well as John Mayer, in a wild bash that took place at The Palm Beverly Hills.

Congratulations to the new dad!

Photo credit: Instagram/Andy Cohen