NEWSAndrew Rannells Reveals Rare Details About Dating 'Super Cool and Smart' Anderson Cooper in His 20s: 'I Was Very Young'
Andrew Rannells opened up about dating Anderson Cooper in his 20s.
Oct. 5 2026, Published 12:00 p.m. ET
Andrew Rannells is spilling new details about his brief romance with Anderson Cooper more than two decades later.
The Girls alum, 48, revealed he was 25 and had just finished performing in Hairspray on Broadway when mutual friends introduced him to the journalist.
"I was not well known at all, but I met him through friends and we dated off and on for about, I don't know, the whole thing took about nine months," Rannells recalled during an appearance on the "OMG Obsessed" podcast.
Andrew Rannells Says They Didn't Actually See Each Other That Often
Andrew Rannells said his on-and-off romance with Anderson Cooper stretched across nine months.
While nine months sounds like a substantial romance, Rannells admitted their relationship was more casual than the timeline might suggest.
"When I look back, it was really only... a pretty low number of meetings, but it did stretch over a sort of period of time," he explained.
At the time, Rannells was still years away from his breakout Broadway role in The Book of Mormon, while Cooper was already an established journalist.
Anderson Cooper Used to Call Andrew Rannells From a Satellite Phone
Andrew Rannells recalled being thrilled when the journalist would call him from a satellite phone.
One particular part of dating Cooper made a major impression on the young actor.
Rannells remembered Cooper calling him from a satellite phone while traveling for work, sometimes with the sounds of helicopters in the background.
The gesture left Rannells convinced their connection was something special, though he now looks back at his younger self's interpretation with humor.
"He was super cool and so smart," Rannells recalled of Cooper.
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Andrew Rannells Though He and Anderson Cooper Were 'in Love'
Andrew Rannells admitted he believed he and Anderson Cooper were falling in love.
Rannells admitted he became more emotionally invested in the relationship than Cooper may have been.
"I was very young and sort of thought, 'I guess we're in love,'" he recalled.
Years later, however, Rannells began to wonder whether the memorable satellite phone calls he'd interpreted as romantic gestures were quite as exclusive as he'd assumed.
"There was maybe a few people he was checking in with," he joked, admitting the realization hurt at the time.
Their relationship ultimately didn't end with a dramatic breakup. Rannells said it simply "fizzled out" after he went away for work.
Andrew Rannells' Romance With Anderson Cooper Inspired 'Girls'
Andrew Rannells later turned his real life dating experience into inspiration for his character on 'Girls.'
Years later, Rannells found an unexpected use for his experience when working on Girls.
He told series creators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner about dating Cooper, and the story ultimately helped inspire Elijah's relationship with high-profile television news anchor Dill Harcourt, played by Corey Stoll.
Rannells has since found lasting love with actor Tuc Watkins, whom he met while the pair were performing together in The Boys in the Band on Broadway in 2018.
