Ricky Martin reflects on his coming out

Singer Ricky Martin has been in the public eye since he was a little boy in the mega-popular Latin boy band Menudo. Through his childhood, teens, and 20s, with every aspect of his personal and professional life under scrutiny, and during a time when it was incredibly difficult for gay performers to come out, it took the “Living La Vida Loca” singer decades until he finally was ready to share his story. During an appearance on Proud Radio on Apple Music, he reflected on his 2011 memoir where he finally found the courage to tell the world that he was queer.“I got to the place I was fighting as I was writing my book between saying, ‘Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I gay? Am I bisexual?,’” he explained on the podcast. “And either is okay, just go within and do not lie to yourself. And then I said, ‘Rick, you are a very fortunate homosexual man. You are gay.’ And I wrote it and I pressed send, and then I cried like crazy. And I’ve been super happy ever since.”

 

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Happy #pride everyone!! . ??????⬛️?

A post shared by Ricky (@ricky_martin) on Jun 27, 2020 at 10:45am PDT

Back in 1999, it was literally impossible to go anywhere without hearing his chart-topping dance-pop hits like, “Living La Vida Loca,” “She Bangs,” or “Shake Your Bon Bon” at every turn. During Ricky’s world tour that year, he says that, despite the fame, success, and accolades, he was depressed by his state of affairs.[video_embed id='1985411']RELATED: We're celebrating Pride from home with content that informs and entertains[/video_embed]“My music was being heard all over the world, regardless of the language,” he explained “I could high five God, but I wasn’t living to the fullest. I was sad. I was depressed. I would walk on stage to perform because that was the only way I could balance my emotion is to snap out of this heavy sadness that I was moving in.”That’s when, he revealed, he knew he needed to cut the tour short and focus on himself before he burned out. “There came a moment that I said, ‘We need to stop. We need to stop the tour.’ I remember I was in Australia, and from Australia, we were going to go to South America. And I said, ‘I can’t. I can’t do this. I need to go home. I need silence. I need to cry. I need to be angry. I need to forgive myself for allowing myself to reach this level, to get to where I’m at.’ And I took some time and I took a sabbatical.”Since that tumultuous time, the Puerto Rican star has finally found his happiness with his marriage to his partner Jwan Yosef, and being a parent to twin boys Matteo and Valentino, and little girl Lucia.

 

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My Life / My Inspiration?

A post shared by Jwan Yosef (@jwanyosef) on Nov 14, 2018 at 12:43am PST

He also spoke about his solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and how it intersects with the LGBTQ+ community. “I think we have to join forces,” he stated. “At this point it’s all about listening, it’s about learning, it’s about being respectful and it’s about understanding that at this point it’s not about us. At this point it’s about giving the platform to those incredible voices that has helped us and has taught us about the injustices that, in this case, the LGBTQ+ community goes through.”[video_embed id='1994191']BEFORE YOU GO: Groomer gets emotional when she finds out dog she's working on is now hers[/video_embed]