Anderson Cooper Says Friends Knew He Was Gay Since High School

Months after publicly coming out of the closet through a statement, Anderson Cooper finally addressed his sexuality in person on the second-season premiere of his talk show, "Anderson Live."

Cooper's co-host, Kristen Chenoweth, asked Cooper about his summer, which included his public declaration of his sexuality in July.

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Cooper got visibly flustered but he did address the issue, saying friends and family knew he was gay for years but he just had not spoken about it publicly.

"Well, everybody in my life has already - now I'm all blushing and I'm getting nervous - since I was an adult and since I was kid, I mean I came out in high school, I told my friends, I told my family," Cooper said. "I've always been out to my coworkers and stuff, it's just not something I talked about publicly because as a reporter I didn't think it was appropriate. It didn't seem like part of my job."

Cooper described his long struggle with his instinct that a reporter shouldn't let personal information get in the way of his or her journalistic endeavors. Ultimately, he said, he didn't want anyone to think he was uncomfortable with who he is, which is why he decided to come out publicly.

"I appreciate all the support I got and all the encouragement. I am the same person I always was, I do the job just the same way," he said.

Cooper's summer wasn't all positive, however. He faced media scrutiny shortly after coming out when his longtime boyfriend, Ben Maisani, was caught kissing another man in public, and it was later revealed that Cooper discovered the scandal while the couple was on vacation together.