CNN anchor Anderson Cooper reveals he is gay

After years of dodging speculation about his sexual orientation, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper revealed he is gay Monday.

A letter written by the 45-year-old newsman to his friend Andrew Sullivan in response to an Entertainment Weekly story about celebrities who have come out of the closet was reprinted on Sullivan's Daily Beast column.

Cooper wrote that he has been rethinking about keeping coy about his private life and decided to come out about his sexuality.

"The fact is, I'm gay, always have been,always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud," he wrote.

Cooper has dodged rumors about his homosexuality for years, but said he wanted to let viewers know he was not "trying to hide something."