Andy Cohen has sparked a lively debate among listeners after disclosing the hourly rate he pays his current babysitter.
The Watch What Happens Live host discussed childcare costs with Still Flipping Out star Jeff Lewis during Monday’s episode of Andy Cohen Live. Cohen, who has two children, said his 23-year-old babysitter earns $30 an hour.
Lewis appeared surprised by the figure, telling Cohen, “Oh, hmm. That sounds cheap to me. Especially from someone with your money.”
“She was there for two hours and you gave her sixty bucks?” Lewis continued. “Did that even cover the cab?”
Lewis went on to say that he pays his own babysitter $37 per hour to care for his nine-year-old daughter, Monroe.
Cohen later clarified that the babysitter had worked for two hours and 15 minutes, meaning he paid her $70 in total.
Andy Cohen surprised SiriusXM listeners by revealing how much he pays his current babysitter
Lewis said he would have paid $100 for two hours of childcare involving two children.
However, social media users were less critical of Cohen’s rate, with many arguing that $30 an hour is fairly standard in New York City, where the television personality lives.
“I think that’s the normal rate, to be honest,” one person commented.
Another wrote, “For New York City, for two kids for 2.5 hours, that’s okay, but not great.”
Cohen is the father of seven-year-old Benjamin and four-year-old Lucy, both of whom were born via surrogate.
During an interview with Anderson Cooper two years ago, Cohen, now 58, opened up about choosing to become a parent in his fifties.
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“Your mom loved that Peggy Lee song, ‘Is That All There Is?’” Cohen told Cooper, referring to the late socialite Gloria Vanderbilt, Cooper’s mother.
“That’s where I was. I was approaching 50, and I heard that song in my head. I was like, ‘There’s got to be a greater purpose for me. This is wonderful, and I absolutely love it. But there has to be a greater purpose,’” he recalled.
Cohen pays his 23-year-old babysitter $30 an hour to care for his two children; he is pictured with son Benjamin in 2022
Cohen is also father to daughter Lucy, whom he welcomed with the help of a surrogate
“Having children has changed me in every way. I think my priorities have completely shifted,” he said.
“I think my sense of accomplishment has totally changed. Even just making your kids breakfast and getting them off to school—when I drop him off, I’m like, ‘You did it, dude! That was a rough two-and-a-half hours, you know?’”
Cohen also discussed why being single did not prevent him from pursuing fatherhood.
‘I just thought, “I wanna do this. And I’m doing it. And I know it’s gonna be really hard, and I don’t know what that actually means.”‘
Cohen has since found love with Kevin Sobieski, who is 16 years his junior and works in private equity.
Meanwhile, Lewis recently returned to Bravo with a reboot of his hit reality show Flipping Out.
Titled Still Flipping Out and produced by 32 Flavors Entertainment, the series follows Lewis as he juggles his interior design business with his popular SiriusXM radio show.
In addition to Lewis, Still Flipping Out features appearances from other celebrities and Bravo talent including Crystal Minkoff, Joey Zauzig, and Cohen himself.