Ricky Martin
For nearly 20 years we’ve shaken our bon-bons and lived la vida loca thanks to this Latino heartthrob. But there’s more to Ricky Martin than being a Grammy winner and one of Puerto Rico’s most successful pop stars. He’s a father, a lover and more importantly – as he tells us – a proud gay man...
Announcing his sexuality to the world was such a positive experience for Ricky Martin that he wonders: “Can I come out again?”
On top of the world with two adorable children, a new man in his life and a
Grammy on his bookshelf for his most recent album, the singer says: “Coming out is such an amazing thing it’s a shame you only get to do it once.”
Ricky’s coming out as “a fortunate gay man” took the form of an announcement on his website in 2010 followed by a candid, inspirational autobiography called Simply Me. He’d been questioned about his sexuality previously, answering with it’s nobody’s-business vagueness rather than admissions or denials because he wanted to declare it on his own terms.
You have to wonder if, having been straightjacketed as a Latino heartthrob for a lusty female fanbase while at the same time amassing a big gay following, he wishes he’d come out sooner. Speaking to us in Miami Ricky pauses, then admits: “I can beat myself up like crazy about that and I have. It’s been intense, asking myself, ‘Why didn’t I do this before?’ I went there a lot. But I can’t beat myself up about it anymore and it was when I felt I was ready, not when other people wanted me to come out.”
A very spiritual soul who practices yoga and Buddhism and takes frequent trips to India, he adds: “There’s a beautiful metaphor that says when an egg opens from within life comes out, but if an egg is opened from the outside only death comes out. I guess it was my time to accept the beauty of my sexuality and then share it with the world. Some people die without going through that beautiful process, but I’m one of those lucky men who did.”
The singer is in London this month for two concerts to raise funds for the Autism Research Trust and is in the midst of a mammoth 100-date tour across three continents. Britain is a sexuality-tolerant tour destination. “But I travel to a lot of countries where the fear of the LGBT+ community is very evident,” he sighs. “To be able not to live like that anymore is something I celebrate every day.”
Ricky relishes the feedback and support he’s had from LGBT+ fans since he came out. “But the most important thing is the young generation of gay men and women who come to me and say, ‘Ricky, thank you so much because when you came out I realised it was OK to be gay.’”
With his autobiography on the bestsellers lists and the publication of a Spanishlanguage version called Yo, he went on a book tour. “And the amount of fathers and mothers