Ricky Martin reflects on the emotional, heartfelt moment he finally admitted to himself that he was gay
Ricky Martin. (Denise Truscello/WireImage)
Ricky Martin has said that he “cried like crazy” when he finally admitted to himself that he was gay while writing his memoir.
The “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer came out as gay in 2010 in an emotional letter to fans in which he said that writing his memoirs had helped him get “very close to [his] truth”.
Speaking on Proud Radio on Apple Music, Martin spoke about the challenges he faced in accepting his sexuality – and revealed the incredible moment he finally accepted that he was gay.
Ricky Martin wondered if he was gay or bisexual before finally coming to terms with his identity.
“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 said.
“And either is OK, 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.”
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.
The singer also spoke about the Black Lives Matter movement and said it is essential that the LGBT+ community joins forces with Black people to stamp out racism and injustice.
“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.”
The Puerto Rican singer came out publicly in 2010.
When he came out in 2010, Martin declared that he was “a fortunate homosexual man”.
“To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where [sic] born with.
“Many people told me: ‘Ricky it’s not important,’ ‘It’s not worth it,’ ‘All the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse,’ ‘Many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature.’
“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 at the time that he felt “very blessed” to be gay and said coming out was an important step towards “inner peace”.
