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Anderson Cooper Told Jimmy Fallon He Met Andy Cohen on a Failed Blind Date
"I knew within 45 seconds I was never going on a date with Andy Cohen," Anderson Cooper told Jimmy Fallon.
Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are the definition of "friendship goals" — even if things between them started off on the wrong foot.
In December 2017, the duo appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about hosting New Year's Eve Live on CNN and touring their live show, AC2. They have been friends for decades, but as they told Jimmy Fallon, their friendship actually started with a failed blind date.
"You guys have known each other for a long time," Fallon told Cooper and Cohen.
"Yeah, we were actually set up on a blind date," Cooper revealed. "You know when straight people know two gay guys, they're like, 'Oh, you guys should meet'?"
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"We had a phone call to set up the date," he continued. "I was a young reporter at ABC, he was at CBS, and I knew within 45 seconds I was never going on a date with Andy Cohen. I imagined him on like a Bluetooth headset with like, gesticulating. He was all excited."
"Andy violated my cardinal rule, which is he asked me about my mom within the first minute of talking to me," Cooper explained, referring to his mother, late designer and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt.
"I wanted to date the Vanderbilt boy. I was excited," exclaimed Cohen. "I remember that something that I did made him shut down, so now I know."
Anderson Cooper tells Jimmy Fallon he never dated Cohen
It turns out they never did go on that date. But as the Watch What Happens Live host told Fallon, "It worked out for the best. Here we are."
When Fallon asked them if they thought they would have been friends as kids, Cooper said they "had such different childhoods."
"We were so different," said Cohen. "His mom took him to Studio 54. When I was 11, I had a paper route in St. Louis, Missouri."
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In a December 2022 episode of Bruce Bozzi's "Table for Two" podcast, Cohen spoke about his friendship with Cooper, and how their bond has grown stronger over the years.
“We've known each other for years. But I would say in the last 15 years, we’ve gotten much closer because he’s been able to kind of guide me as I’ve been in front of the camera, and guide me navigating what that is," the Bravo personality said.
"We've been able to develop our friendship as a public duo which has been fun for me and for him."
