’60 Minutes’: Anderson Cooper Gets Emotional as He Says Farewell to Show

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Anderson Cooper delivered an emotional farewell on his final appearance on CBS’ 60 Minutes.
Cooper cited a desire to spend more time with his family as the reason for his departure.
He expressed gratitude for his time on 60 Minutes and hoped the show would maintain its core values.

Anderson Cooper said goodbye to 60 Minutes on Sunday night (May 17), after two decades on the CBS news magazine program.

After delivering his final report for the show, the long-time journalist gave his iconic sign-off, telling the audience, “I’m Anderson Cooper.” In a special behind-the-scenes look, an emotional Cooper bowed his head before delivering his closing line three times.

In February, Cooper announced he would be leaving CBS’ 60 Minutes after more than 20 years. While he stated it was to spend more time with his family, sources told Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter that Cooper wasn’t aligned with the “rightward direction” of CBS News under Weiss and David Ellison.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” Cooper said in an interview shared on 60 Minutes Overtime. “This is my last shoot for 60 Minutes. 60 Minutes has always been a place, at least for me, that you get to step into somebody else’s shoes. You get to see things through their eyes and see what their struggles are and what they are facing and you learn from that.”

He continued, “I don’t think the reality has hit me that I’m not going to be doing this any longer, you know, to give up something you’ve watched since you were a kid. Yeah, I will miss this.”

Cooper revealed that he started watching 60 Minutes after his father died and became a fan of the show for its “trusted” and “hard-hitting” reporting. After he landed a gig on the show, the CNN anchor said he “could not believe” he’d made it.

The Anderson Cooper 360 host said it has been a challenge juggling his work at CNN with his work on 60 Minutes. “CNN doesn’t like it if I take a lot of time off to work on a 60 Minutes piece, so I’ve worked mostly for 60 Minutes on weekends,” he shared. “My vacation time at CNN has been working on 60 Minutes pieces, and I’ve loved it, but it’s been tough.”

As for the future of the show, Cooper said, “I hope 60 Minutes remains 60 Minutes. There’s very few things that have been around as long as 60 Minutes has and maintained the quality that it has. And things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome. And things should evolve and change, but I hope the core of what 60 Minutes is always remains.”

You can watch the full segment featuring Cooper’s final sign-off in the video above.

Source: ’60 Minutes’: Anderson Cooper Gets Emotional as He Says Farewell to Show

Lisa Kennedy recently married Fred in Hawaii: Who is the Fox News star’s new husband?

Fox News personality Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery has entered a new chapter in her personal life after marrying Fred in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Hawaii.

Kennedy shared photographs from the celebration at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai, giving followers a glimpse of the man she now calls her husband and the friends who joined them for the occasion.

“Married the love of my life at the Four Seasons Lanai in a Heidi Merrick dress drenched in sunshine and aloha,” Kennedy wrote. “I love you forever, Fred!!”

While Kennedy has been open about how much Fred means to her, she has kept many details about her new husband firmly outside the public spotlight.

Kennedy and Fred celebrate their marriage in Hawaii

The couple exchanged vows during an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Kennedy wore a sparkling white Heidi Merrick gown with a fitted silhouette, completing her bridal look with a veil and colorful tropical bouquet. Fred wore a light-blue suit with a white shirt, light-colored tie and brown shoes. The newlyweds also wore traditional Hawaiian leis.

Photographs showed Kennedy and Fred walking hand in hand as guests applauded, with the bride raising her bouquet in celebration. Another captured them cutting their multi-tiered wedding cake against a backdrop of palm trees, ocean views and the evening sky.

The wedding announcement became a major moment among Kennedy’s followers, receiving more than 154,000 likes and nearly 2,000 comments.

Several familiar Fox News personalities were also part of the celebration. Emily Compagno, Abby Hornacek and Alexis McAdams were among the recognizable guests photographed in Hawaii.

Emily later wrote that they had the “best time celebrating Kennedy and Fred’s marriage,” adding, “The Fox family showed up for our favorite girl.”

Who is Kennedy’s husband, Fred?

Despite the attention surrounding their wedding, Fred remains largely a private figure.

Based on what Kennedy has publicly shared, his surname, profession and detailed background have not been revealed. Even when announcing her marriage, Kennedy continued referring to her husband simply as Fred.

What she has shared, however, offers some insight into how unexpectedly their relationship entered her life.

Lisa Kennedy and her new husband Fred / Youtube

Kennedy discussed Fred publicly when announcing their engagement on The Five in December 2025. She revealed that he had proposed on December 10 and said the two had met recently and “unexpectedly.”

During the emotional on-air conversation, Kennedy described the impact their meeting had on her life.

“He is the most beautiful, wonderful human being,” she said. “And I had totally given up until those elevator doors opened and I met him out of the blue — he changed my life.”

Kennedy has not provided additional details about exactly where that first meeting occurred or the circumstances surrounding it.

Their relationship began before the public announcement

Although viewers did not learn about the engagement until December 2025, Kennedy revealed another detail suggesting Fred had quietly been part of her life for some time.

She told her The Five colleagues that she had secretly brought him to the Fox Christmas party the previous year.

“I snuck him in. Don’t tell security,” Kennedy joked during the conversation.

That revelation indicated the couple had already been seeing each other by at least December 2024, even though Kennedy had kept the relationship away from public attention.

Dana Perino was among those particularly moved by the engagement news.

Perino recalled learning about it while Kennedy was appearing on America’s Newsroom, telling her colleague that the announcement had made her cry.

“And Fred is such a wonderful guy,” Perino said before telling Kennedy, “I cried because I’m so happy for you.”

From a private romance to a Hawaiian wedding

Kennedy continued keeping Fred’s personal details private even as she became more open about their relationship.

That approach remained evident at their wedding. While she shared numerous photographs of their special day and publicly expressed her love for her new husband, she did not use the occasion to reveal his surname, career or other biographical information.

Instead, Kennedy kept the attention on their marriage and the happiness surrounding it.

The couple received congratulations from numerous familiar names, including Kat Timpf, Janice Dean, Sandra Smith, Griff Jenkins, Abby Hornacek and Meghan McCain.

For followers who had watched Kennedy announce her engagement months earlier, the Hawaiian ceremony provided the next chapter in a relationship that had largely developed outside the public eye.

What is publicly known about Fred remains limited, but Kennedy has made one thing unmistakably clear: she considers him the man who unexpectedly entered her life, changed it and ultimately became her husband.

From secretly attending a Fox Christmas party together to an emotional engagement announcement and finally exchanging vows beside the Pacific Ocean, Kennedy and Fred have now made their commitment official — while continuing to keep much of their story between themselves.