By: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

Longtime openly gay CNN political news correspondent and 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper, confirmed to People Magazine that he and longtime boyfriend of nine years, Benjamin Maisani, are no longer a couple.

In a statement released to People Magazine, Anderson Cooper admitted that….“Benjamin and I separated as boyfriends some time ago. We are still family to each other, and love each other very much.” He added that the pair “remain the best of friends, and will continue to share much of our lives together.” said Cooper.

While Cooper says that they haven’t been in a romantic relationship for some time, the couple were spotted last year in paparazzi photographs at Cooper’s Brazilian vacation home for the July issue of Architectural Digest.

Plus Us Weekly caught Cooper and Maisani together last Saturday March 10, when they attended a benefit for New York City’s The Windward School.

In a 2014 interview in the publication French Morning, Maisani, who currenty owns 4 gay nightclubs in New York city, spoke of how he managed to avoid the limelight while dating the Internationally recognized Anderson Cooper.

“I understand that it interests people, but it doesn’t interest me,” Maisani said of dating a celebrity,” Maisani told People Magazine. “I knew I’d have to be careful right from the start before it had a chance to get out of hand.” said Maisani.

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