'Partner' Ben Maisani and Anderson Cooper to Adopt Haitian Orphan?

Ben Maisani

Word on the street is that news-man-about-town Anderson Cooper, 42, will soon become a baby daddy and not in the traditional sense.

Media tabloid the National Enquirer has put Cooper on double blast. First, the celeb tell-all magazine outed Anderson in a no-holds-barred kind of way. Second, they are claiming that Cooper and alleged partner Ben Maisani, a bar owner, have adopted a Haitian orphan and are in the process of bringing the child to these shores.

The Enquirer is not the first media outlet to snitch on Cooper's personal doings. Not long ago, the New York Post's Page Six alluded to Cooper's rather cozy relationship with Maisani.

An alleged "longtime friend" of Cooper's told the Enquirer that when Cooper flew to Haiti after the earthquake, the CNN anchor was so terribly moved by all he had witnessed, adopting an orphan just seemed like the right thing to do. "The death and destruction in Haiti made Anderson realize just what is important. He and Ben have decided to become dads. Ben has been the best thing that ever happened to Anderson. They both feel they're ready for a baby," the friend told the Enquirer.

UNICEF reports that there are 380,000 Haitian orphans waiting to be adopted. Unfortunately, as relief efforts continue in the devastated country, more children will find themselves without parents.

Late last year, the silver-haired news man paid $4.3 million for an 8,240-square-foot firehouse in New York City's Greenwich Village. It's reported that the residence is in the throes of a major renovation. According to the Enquirer, Cooper and Maisani will raise the child in their new home, complete with brass fire poles and original spiral staircases.

I wonder if Madonna and Angelina will come over to give the couple parenting pointers?

Stay tuned.