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Celebrity

09th Aug 2021

Real Housewives host Andy Cohen says fatherhood has made dating “challenging”

Laura Grainger

The reality TV mogul became a dad in 2019.

Producer and presenter Andy Cohen has opened up about how being a dad has impacted his ability to date.

The Real Housewives veteran, known for hosting the franchises’ reunion episodes and Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, spoke to Entertainment Tonight about relationships and fatherhood, saying the latter made the former “challenging.”

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The 53-year-old, who became a dad in 2019 when he welcomed son Ben via surrogate, was doing press for his upcoming dating show, Ex-Rated.

On his own dating life, Andy said: “Oh my god, it’s changed a lot. I think it’s become harder in a way. There’s just this subtext that’s obvious without me saying it that’s there, that was never there [before fatherhood], obviously.

“…And so, to me,  it’s a high bar. I don’t know. It’s challenging, is the answer. It’s challenging.”

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The host previously spoke about his wishes to become a dad, saying he wasn’t sure fatherhood was on the cards for him.

“When I came out to my parents in 1988, my mom said she had to mourn the life that I wasn’t going to be able to have,” he revealed to People. “And that life meant getting married and having kids.”

Andy added that though recent years have seen more progressive attitudes to same-sex parents, he was too focused on his career to commit to becoming a dad.

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It wasn’t until the end of 2017 he made the decision to start the journey towards fatherhood.

“I’m excited to go on adventures with him and show him the world,” Andy said of Ben, now 2. “I want to see him running around a big green yard. I want to teach him to swim.”