Anderson Cooper, CNN’s silver fox and anchor of Anderson Cooper 360, has always projected poise, but a leaked therapy session audio from 2025 reveals a tormented soul, with Cooper allegedly confessing, “I blame myself for Carter’s death – if I’d been there more…” This gut-wrenching admission about his brother Carter Vanderbilt Cooper’s 1988 suicide has resurfaced amid CNN’s ratings nosedive, painting the 58-year-old as a man crumbling under personal and professional pressure.

Anderson Cooper opens up about brother, fathers' deaths

Cooper’s illustrious career spans war zones and hurricanes, earning him a $200 million net worth and Vanderbilt heir status. Openly gay since 2012, he welcomed sons Wyatt and Sebastian via surrogate in 2020 and 2022, co-parenting with ex Benjamin Maisani. But the family tragedy – Carter jumping from their mother’s 14th-floor balcony – has haunted him, detailed in his 2006 memoir. The leak, purportedly from a private session, ties into his on-air vulnerability, like tearing up during COVID reports.

Insiders say the confession leaked amid CNN layoffs, with Cooper’s show dipping below 700,000 viewers. “Anderson’s the network’s heart,” a colleague noted. “But this blame game? It’s raw – and rivals like Fox are using it to mock CNN’s ’emotional anchors.’” Social media sympathy mixes with speculation: Is this why he clashed with Don Lemon pre-2023 firing?

As Cooper promotes his grief podcast, the leak could humanize or hinder him. Will he address it live? CNN’s future hangs on its star – one more revelation, and it all unravels.