Unbeknownst to him, Anderson Cooper was once a ladies' man. The openly gay journalist opened up about his past romantic relationships during a recent episode of his eponymous daytime talk show.

"I have had a little bit more experience in other areas other than with guys," Cooper, 45, giggled. "I don't have much experience, but the few times when I would go on a date with a girl -- like when I was 12 -- there was a lot of sharing, and a lot of talking, and a lot of asking how I am."

Cooper -- who shares a townhouse with boyfriend and nightclub owner Ben Maisani in New York City's East Village neighborhood -- said he "didn't really know" about some of his "alleged" relationships with his female peers.

"They thought we were dating," he recalled, "and I was sort of hoping to meet their brothers!"

"They're my best friends still, but I find they share a lot," the Anderson Cooper 360 host said of his female friends. "I have a friend -- I send her one text and I get 20 texts back. Guys don't want a million texts. It's exhausting."

Though he's been out to friends and family since high school, Cooper didn't comment on his sexual orientation until the summer of 2012. "It's just not something I talked about publicly, because as a reporter, I didn't think it was appropriate," he later explained. "It didn't seem like part of my job."

"I didn't want to send a message that there was anything I was ashamed about or unhappy about or not comfortable with. That was the main thing for me," he continued. "I am the same person I always was. I do the job just the same way."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Anderson Cooper: I Once Dated Girls But I Was More Interested in "Their Brothers"