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Andy Cohen鈥檚 Sexuality: What We Know

When talking about television talk shows in the United States of America, one name comes to many people鈥檚 minds. The name is Andrew Joseph Cohen, popularly known as Andy Cohen. Andy is not only one of the best television talk show hosts in history, but also a radio host, producer, and writer whose journey as an openly gay man has inspired millions of people across the world.

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Born in 1968 in St Louis, Missouri in the United States of America, Andy was raised in a family that had Jewish beliefs as their guide to life. His parents Lou Cohen and Evelyne Cohen were strict parents who wanted to see their children succeed and become important people in society. Having one sibling, Emily Rosenfeld made it easier for his parents to concentrate on him while growing up.

While he was a teenager, Andy figured out that he had romantic feelings for men on a day when he visited his father at a tennis game. He realized he was gay when he was a teenager, which scared him to death because of the way gay people were treated in the twentieth century.

While sexuality is a common topic of discussion today, things were different in the 80s to the 2000s when men and women faced serious consequences for coming out of the closet. The stigma of coming out came with more serious repercussions including people losing their careers, finances, and worse, losing their lives either through suicide because of depression or through diseases because they were not attended to by doctors.

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Speaking to Oprah Daily, Andy recalled his first experiences when he realized that he was gay.

鈥淚 thought 鈥� If I鈥檓 gay, I鈥檓 gonna die. My friends were all constantly saying fag, and they said it on TV all the time鈥攊t was in the vernacular, and it was not shocking. I would kind of shut down when I鈥檇 hear it; I just didn鈥檛 think my friends and family would accept me,鈥� he said.

In addition to being barred from social groups in the 80s, the LGBTQ+ community was a target as people believed that HIV/AIDS spread fast when people of the same sex engaged in sexual relationships. Therefore Andy was scared of the consequences of his sexual orientation and chose to keep it to himself.

However, while at Boston University, the twenty-year-old Andy Cohen became more knowledgeable understanding that people have rights and freedom of expression. He was liberated from the closeted mindset after realizing that he could live freely as an openly gay man. He therefore came out to his close friends while at the university.

Andy鈥檚 mother found out about his sexuality when she saw a letter that Andy had written to his gay friend. Despite confronting him, she was understanding enough to support her son with his decision to explore his sexuality differently.

鈥淎fter my mom found it, I came out to her鈥攁nd she later wound up getting involved in an AIDS charity in St. Louis because she wanted to get involved in my community. The rest is history,鈥� said Andy during the interview.

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After his studies, Andy Cohen became an intern at CBS during the 80s but stayed in the closet for fear of losing his job and other consequences. Things turned around quickly in the next decade as several celebrities in Hollywood and across the country came out openly as gay. Ellen DeGeneres was the best example for Andy when she came out in 1997 leading to the cancellation of her show. Her courage infused courage in other people who were in the closet including Andy.

While speaking to Oprah Daily, the American writer stated an incident that aided his coming out on national television as a gay man in 2009. He put everything online because he was having a fantastic career as a television show host of The Real Housewives.

鈥淭eresa Giudice鈥檚 husband said something that Danielle Staub thought was homophobic, or disrespectful to gays. We had a conversation about it, and Theresa said it wasn鈥檛 offensive. I said鈥攁nd this is way before I started inserting myself into anything鈥斺�� Look, I have to say, I鈥檓 the only gay guy in the room. I am gay, and it was not comfortable to me.鈥� At the time, it was kind of a big deal, because I hadn鈥檛 come out publicly on TV. This was way before Watch What Happens Live, and I guess I had never said it. Weirdly, that was kind of my 鈥榩ublic鈥� coming out,鈥� said Andy in the interview.

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At that time, Andy Cohen became the first gay man to host a late-night talk show during the Watch What Happens premiere in 2009. He secured himself a pot in the LGBTQ₊ community as the most influential radio and television talk show gay man. He became the face of the community telling the world about the challenges that people in the LGBTQ+ community go through.

During his first years as an openly gay man, Andy hosted some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry including Lady Gaga, Meghan McCain, and even Oprah Winfrey. He has had a show where he asks uncomfortable questions to straight people on the show How to Tell If Your Boyfriend Is Gay.

The writer continues to make waves in different ways because he has also become the author of three New York Times bestsellers The Most Talkative, The Diary of Andy Cohen, and Superficial all published between 2012 and 2016. He has proved that being a gay man does not bar anyone from achieving their goals in life.

Although Andy has been openly gay for over a decade, there is little to know about his romantic relationships with men. His close relationship with Anderson Cooper raised rumors that the two were dating. Andy and Cooper denied the allegation and he has since been linked to John Mayer, who, despite being straight, has been closer to Andy more than anyone else. The two are supposedly in love but have never had a sexual encounter.