Andy Cohen Would 'Probably' Have Gotten Married Years Ago If Same-Sex Marriage Had Been Legal

Charlotte Triggs
Updated

Andy Cohen is going to be a dad — but where does he stand on marriage?

In a sit-down interview with PEOPLE in 2011, Cohen — who revealed on Thursday’s Watch What Happens Live that he’s expecting his first child via surrogate in about six weeks — opened up about the New York Senate’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage in June of that year.

“I’m thrilled,” he said. “It was an issue I always supported but I didn’t realize how important it was to me and how strongly I felt about it until it was passed.”

“It actually made me a little mad after it was passed. I found myself very upset about why it took so long,” he continued. “It made me wonder who I would be and where I would be if it had been legal 21 years ago when I graduated from college. I think I probably would have been married earlier. Because I think that if all you have to aspire to is moving in together in a relationship, it doesn’t make you question your relationship.”

“I would love to get married now,” he continued. “I’m thrilled about it and it made me think about it in a way I hadn’t before.”

RELATED: ‘A Bravo Baby!’ Real Housewives Send Andy Cohen Love After He Reveals He’s Going to Be a Dad

On WWHL, Cohen, 50, did not disclose the sex of his baby or whether or not he plans to raise the child as a single parent. (He revealed in March that he had split from boyfriend Clifton Dassuncao.)

Speaking to PEOPLE, Cohen said he “for sure” wanted a family one day.

“And I have many friends who have had kids alone, but I don’t think I can do it with the lifestyle I have right now,” he said at the time. “It’s not fair to the kid. I grew up in St. Louis with two parents and a sister and a lot of people around. I don’t have that supportive structure.”

RELATED VIDEO: Andy Cohen Says He and Anderson Cooper Both Hooked Up with the Same Guy

Sharing his baby news while closing out the Bravo show’s final live broadcast of 2018, the emotional host told viewers he was “full of gratitude.”

“Tonight, I want you to be the first to know that after many years of careful deliberation, a fair amount of prayers and the benefit of science — if all goes according to plan in about six weeks time I’m going to become a father,” he said.

“Thanks to a wonderful surrogate who is carrying my future,” he continued. “Family means everything to me and having one of my own is something that I have wanted in my heart for my entire life. Though it’s taken me longer than most to get there, I cannot wait for what I envision will be the most rewarding chapter yet.”

RELATED: Everything Dad-to-Be Andy Cohen Has Said About Becoming a Parent

On Friday, Cohen thanked fans for the outpouring of support.

“Thank you for all the love and support!” he tweeted. “I’m overwhelmed and touched.”