Cooper served as a host on the news magazine program for 20 years before his final appearance on Sunday, May 17.

Why did Anderson Cooper leave 60 Minutes? Details about his emotional departure

Cooper served as a host on the news magazine program for 20 years before his final appearance on Sunday, May 17.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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May 18, 2026 2:51 p.m. ET

Anderson Cooper on '60 Minutes'. Credit:

- Anderson Cooper is leaving *60 Minutes *after 20 years to prioritize time with his sons, Wyatt and Sebastian.

- "I've got a 4-year-old and a just now 6-year-old, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they still want to spend time with me," Cooper said.

- The journalist will continue to anchor *Anderson Cooper 360°* on CNN.

Anderson Cooper is stepping away from *60 Minutes* to prioritize his family.

During Cooper's final episode on CBS' news magazine program on Sunday, the broadcast journalist became emotional when speaking about what was next for him after 20 years on the show. Cooper said he realized how much distance there was between him and his children after a colleague spoke about the last time his son let him hold his hand while walking to school.

"I almost started to cry when he told me that because I'm in South Africa, and my kid is going to school that day, and I'm not there," he admitted during Sunday's pre-recorded *60 Minutes Overtime*.

"I've got a 4-year-old and a just now 6-year-old, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they still want to spend time with me. And those days, that clock is ticking, I think," he continued, referring to sons Wyatt Morgan and Sebastian Luke, who he co-parents with ex-partner Benjamin Maisani.

Anderson Cooper on '60 Minutes'.

Cooper, who also hosts the CNN program *Anderson Cooper 360°*, has been balancing both jobs and using vacation time for his CNN role to film *60 Minutes *segments.

"The whole time I've done pieces for *60 Minutes*, my full-time job has been over at CNN and still is. And it's been really challenging to do the kind of work you need to do to have a great* 60 Minutes* piece," Cooper said.

"CNN doesn't like it if I take a lot of time off to work on a *60 Minutes* piece, so I've worked mostly for *60 Minutes* on weekends. My vacation time at CNN has been working on *60 Minutes* pieces. And I've loved it, but it's been tough," he said.**

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Cooper announced his exit from *60 Minutes *in February, after Bari Weiss became editor-in-chief at CBS News in October 2025. The month before she was hired, CBS parent company Paramount Global paid Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over the editing of a *60 Minutes *interview with Kamala Harris.

In April 2025, before the controversial figure's takeover, producer Bill Owens resigned after he said it became "clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for *60 Minutes*, right for the audience.”

In February, a spokesperson for Cooper said they had no comment regarding whether his exit had to do with Weiss' hiring, the Associate Press reported.**

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"Being a correspondent at *60 Minutes* has been one of the great honors of my career,” Cooper said in a statement shared with * *in February.

“I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors, and camera crew in the business. For nearly 20 years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs and CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now, and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me,” the statement read.

Anderson Cooper on '60 Minutes'.

During *60 Minutes Overtime*, Cooper also spoke of his longtime appreciation for the show, dating back to his childhood.

"I was a weird little kid. I liked watching news. After my dad died, there was a lot of silence in my house, and we'd watch the news over dinner," Cooper recalled.

"I hope *60 Minutes* is around for when my kids grow up and have kids of their own, and they can watch it with their kids."

Cooper added, "I don't think the reality has really hit me that I'm not gonna be doing this any longer. To give up something that you've watched since you were a kid. Yeah, I will miss this."

The commentator will continue to host *Anderson Cooper 360° *on CNN.

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