Andrew Rannells Reveals Brief Romance With Anderson Cooper

Photo credits: Page Six via YouTube Girls star Andrew Rannells has confirmed that he dated CNN anchor Anderson Cooper about 20 years ago. The 47-year-old actor said his relationship with Cooper inspired the romance between his Girls character, Elijah, and TV host Dill Harcourt. What Andrew Rannells revealed about dating Anderson Cooper and Girls Andrew Rannells spills on his relationship with Anderson Cooper when he was 25, which went on to inspire a storyline in HBO's hit show 'Girls.' Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/JOBkCEGIfi pic.twitter.com/YCkY2N3mhl — Daily Beast's Obsessed (@beastobsessed) June 15, 2026 During an episode of Daily Beast’s Obsessed: The Podcast, Rannells described, as quoted by People , “I told [creators] Lena [Dunham] and Jenni Konner a story about when I was 25 that I had dated Anderson Cooper. And I told them about the experience and what that was like.” “Then it became the story that Elijah had in the series,” explaining he and Cooper had “a very brief relationship.” “But when I told them that, they were like, ‘Oh, that’s a fun story.’” It later became part of Elijah’s storyline in Season 5 of the HBO series. The aspiring Broadway actor Elijah meets an older news anchor named Dill (Corey Stoll) at a bar, and the two begin a romance. However, Dill later ends the relationship because of their age difference. The series aired for six seasons from 2012 to 2017. This is the first time Rannells has publicly confirmed his romance with Cooper. He had previously denied that the character was based on Anderson Cooper. Talking about Dill’s character, he told  Elle  in 2016, “I think the general idea that he’s this powerful, you know, adult, is what’s important. For my money, his job could have been any number of things. It just represents that he’s very much from the outside of these characters’ world.” In the same year, Cooper also addressed rumors that the character was based on him. He told the  New York Post , “I’m obsessed with Girls, but I’m a few episodes behind. I just met Lena Dunham at Sundance, and she didn’t mention anything to me, but I’d be flattered.” Cooper is now a single father of two sons and is not publicly dating anyone. He shares two children with his friend and former partner, Benjamin Maisani. The two were in a relationship from 2014 to 2019, as per StyleCaster. On the other hand, Rannells is dating actor Tuc Watkins, whom he met in 2018 while they were co-starring in the Broadway production of The Boys in the Band. TELL US- WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE GIRLS SERIES? Originally reported by Meenakshi Sengupta for Mandatory The post Andrew Rannells Reveals Brief Romance With Anderson Cooper appeared first on Reality Tea .