Andrew Rannells Finally Confirms Anderson Cooper Romance Inspired Girls Storyline

For nearly a decade, fans of HBO’s Girls have speculated about whether a certain famous newscaster inspired one of the show’s most pivotal character arcs. Now, actor Andrew Rannells has put the mystery to rest—and the answer is more personal than anyone expected.

During a recent appearance on The Daily Beast’s“Obsessed”podcast, Rannells revealed that his own brief romance with Anderson Cooper served as the real-life seed for a storyline involving his character Elijah. The Miss You, Love You star explained that he’d shared the experience with creators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner when the show was in development.“I told them a story about when I was 25 that I had dated Anderson Cooper,”Rannells, 47, recalled.“And I told them about the experience and what that was like.”The creators loved it—”Oh, that’s a fun story,”they responded—and wove elements of it into the narrative.

On the show, Rannells’character Elijah had been Hannah’s college ex-boyfriend who later came out as gay. In season 5, he crosses paths with an older news anchor named Dill (played by Corey Stoll) at a bar. The two hit it off and begin dating, though the relationship eventually ends due to their age gap. It’s a plot device that, in retrospect, reads as a direct translation of Rannells’own experience with the 59-year-old CNN broadcaster.

What makes this revelation particularly interesting is how both parties handled the speculation at the time. When Girls season 5 aired in 2016, fans immediately connected the dots between Dill and Cooper. The news anchor, a self-proclaimed fan of the series, played it cool in an interview with the New York Post:“I’m obsessed with Girls, but I’m a few episodes behind…I’d be flattered. Is that the guy Andrew Rannells’[character] is dating? I’m a friend of Andrew’s. I should ask him.”Meanwhile, Rannells demurred, suggesting the character’s appeal was more about power dynamics than any specific person.

Fast forward to today, and Rannells has moved on to happiness with Tuc Watkins, whom he met in 2019 and later performed alongside in the Broadway production of The Boys in the Band. Cooper, for his part, was in a long-term relationship with Benjamin Maisani from 2014 to 2019, with whom he shares two sons. Sometimes the best art comes from the moments that don’t quite work out—and sometimes the people involved are gracious enough to laugh about it later.