Anderson Cooper appears with his son Wyatt Morgan Cooper on the cover of People's Pride Issue this June.
The CNN anchor, who welcomed his healthy baby boy via surrogate in April, opened up about embracing fatherhood, how his life has changed and more for the spread.
Cooper said since welcoming his son, who he named after his late father, he feels his life, "has actually begun."
MORE: Anderson Cooper announces he is a father, praises surrogates everywhere"I sort of wonder, what was I waiting for? This is a new level of love. It's unlike anything I've experienced, and yet it's also very familiar and incredibly special and intimate. It's really extraordinary," he told People.
The news anchor previously explained what welcoming a son means to him as a gay man.
"As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I'm grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth," he wrote in an Instagram post.
MORE: Why Anderson Cooper is co-parenting with his exHe told People that he is thankful for "all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people who struggled for generations and have died never thinking this was a possibility."
MORE: Anderson Cooper reveals he shared his plans for fatherhood with his mother Gloria Vanderbilt before her death
Cooper also shared that since becoming a father, he has developed a new view on his life's work and passion for paving the way for future generations.
"I feel invested in the future in a way I hadn't really before," he told the outlet. "There's something about having a child that makes you feel connected to what is happening and you want to make sure that the world this child is growing up in is a better one. You suddenly worry much more about the future of all of us."
The news anchor plans to co-parent his son with his former partner of 10 years, Benjamin Maisani.
Cooper told Howard Stern last month that this decision partially stemmed from his own childhood experiences, as no adult figure "stepped in" to help his mother, late fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt, raise him after his father died.
"If more people love my son and are in his life, I'm all for that," Cooper said. "My ex is a great guy, and I think it's good to have two parents, if you can."
