Andy Cohen is defending his babysitter pay after his own radio guest called the rate cheap.
The Bravo host, 56, revealed on his SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live that he paid a local sitter $70 for two hours and fifteen minutes watching his son Ben, 7, and daughter Lucy, 4. That works out to roughly $30 per hour for two children. Fellow radio personality Jeff Lewis, who appeared as a guest, immediately pushed back. “That sounds cheap to me, especially from someone with your money,” Lewis said on the broadcast.
Lewis kept pressing. “She was there for two hours, and you gave her 60 bucks? Did that even cover the cab?” Cohen clarified that the total was actually $70 for the slightly longer shift, but Lewis held firm on his own standard. “I probably would have given her $100 for two hours [and] two kids,” he added.
The exchange quickly drew attention to what Cohen actually shells out compared to broader market rates. Recent 2026 data from Sittercity puts the average US babysitter rate at $20 to $26 per hour for one child, with an additional $1 to $5 per hour for each extra child. By that measure, Cohen’s $30 for two kids sits above the national average, even if Lewis found it lacking.
Lewis speaks from his own experience. The 54-year-old noted he pays his own nanny $37 per hour to care for his 9-year-old daughter Monroe. That personal benchmark colored his reaction to Cohen’s arrangement.
The discussion also surfaced Cohen’s broader reflections on single fatherhood. “Instagram makes everything look easy,” he said in a previous interview. “I don’t show you my moments of intense vulnerability and loneliness and frustration because that’s not fun to look at,” He continued: “But those moments happen like they do for all parents. Being the good cop and bad cop all in one person and just being everything [to them]. But I also think having kids late in life has suited me well. I’m better at not taking everything on.”
Cohen has been open about building his family as a solo parent. He welcomed Ben via surrogate in 2019 and Lucy in 2022. The Watch What Happens Live host has also recently found a new relationship with boyfriend Kevin Sobieski, whom he has dated for more than a year. Cohen has noted that Sobieski has already bonded with both children.
The babysitter pay flap marks another parenting topic Cohen has addressed publicly. He has previously spoken about the realities of raising young children without a partner, including the emotional toll and the practical juggling act. The radio segment with Lewis put a specific dollar figure on one of those practical arrangements, sparking debate about what constitutes fair compensation when wealth is part of the equation.
Cohen’s personal life has remained in the public eye throughout his parenting journey. Beyond his radio show and late-night hosting duties, he has used interviews and social media to document both milestones and mundane moments of fatherhood. The latest revelation came during a routine broadcast conversation that veered into territory neither host apparently anticipated would generate headlines.
Cohen is scheduled to host his annual New Year’s Eve special with Anderson Cooper on CNN.