BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LATINO Pop Singer Ricky Martin is ‘livin la vida loca’ when he recently twitted that he is gay.
According to yardflex.com, the artiste posted a statement via Twitter in both Spanish and English, and later confirmed with his representative.
The statement from Martin said: “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.”
The announcement was made on March 29 and came as no surprise for many as the singer has never really addressed rumours concerning his sexuality for years.
Martin, 38, said he decided to reveal the truth after working on his memoirs which helped him realise that he had to be free with himself and not keep any more secrets.
But the Puerto Rican star, who got his start as a child in the teen group Menudo, never directly addressed it and was usually seen at events with beautiful women on his arm.
“From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time.
Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside. Writing this account of my life, I got very close to my truth. And this is something worth celebrating,” Yardflex reported.
Martin said one of the reasons why he kept his homosexuality hidden was because he was told by some that it would hurt his career.
“Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth,” he said in his statement.
“Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today, I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.”
Martin, who is the father of two boys born via surrogate in 2008, said he couldn’t continue to hide his sexuality now that he is a father: “Enough is enough. This has to change.”
Martin, who was born Enrique Martín Morales, left the group Menudo to pursue a solo career in 1990.
During his career, he has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide and is the founder of Ricky Martin Foundation (in Spanish Fundación Ricky Martin), a non-profit charity organisation.
His US career peaked after the release of his 1999 self-titled English album; a multiplatinum success which featured the single ‘Livin' la Vida Loca,’ which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, the United
Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, and South Africa.
He followed up with the hit ‘She's All I Ever Had’, which peaked at number two on The Billboard Hot 100. This album became one of the top-selling albums of 1999 and was certified seven times platinum, selling over 22 million copies worldwide to date.
After the success of ‘Ricky Martin’, a new English-language album, ‘Sound Loaded’, was released in November 2000. Though the album did debut in the top 10 (number four), it failed to reach number one. Three singles were released from Sound Loaded: the first was ‘She Bangs,’ which was followed by a duet with Christina Aguilera called ‘Nobody Wants to Be Lonely’.
In the past, Martin stated he was in love with Mexican TV host Rebecca de Alba, with whom he had an off-and-on-again relationship for over 14 years. They even talked of starting a family together, and at one point Martin planned on proposing.
However, with the release of his October 2005 album ‘Life’, Martin confirmed he and De Alba had parted ways.
It was especially during the Livin' la Vida Loca era that Martin's personal life went under the microscope due to his large gay following, and he was questioned about his sexual orientation.
In December, 2000, during an interview in The Mirror, Martin was asked, “So what about all these rumors?”
“There’s not a lot I can do about that,” he said.
“I guess these rumours were started by people who don't have a life, or perhaps it’s because they want me to be like them and I'm not. I try not to pay attention to any of these allegations. I could have been married with kids for years or have 27 girlfriends, and if people still want to go around saying that I'm gay, they will."
