In a new Behind the Musicprofile, Ricky Martin reveals that his first secret relationship with a man left him heartbroken and that his current partner Carlos is sexy, smart, and loves his children.
The Puerto Rican hearththrob, who came out in 2010, also tells of growing up Catholic in a Latin American country. “You go to school and [the] first thing they ask you when you come back home is, ‘Do you already have a girlfriend?’” Martin says. “Automatically, society tells you that’s what you are supposed to feel. You’re not supposed to feel this and if you feel this, there’s something really bad going on.”
Martin also opens up about his first significant relationship with a man, which he kept secret. “It didn't work out as I hoped that it would work out,” Martin says. “And then what happened with me was that when it was over I was heartbroken. And then it was time to go back to the beginning, it is time to go back to what kind of feels right. Let’s sing, let’s work. Let’s move.”
The singer recalls his fear of being outed at the height of Rickymania, when his song “La Vida Loca” topped singles charts. “That is all I worked for, that level of fame,” he says. “That’s all I dreamed of, that’s all I wanted since the beginning of my career. And then when I had it, I was afraid. It’s like, oh, my God, I think I am so exposed.”
Martin again tells that it was the birth of his twins that inspired him to come out in 2010: “My babies were born and I was holding them and I said I need to be strong, I need to be happy and I need to do whatever it takes for them to grow in a house full of love, transparency and what am I going to teach them, how to lie? [Kids] are going to ask them about daddy and they just have to say, yeah, daddy’s gay.”
He also speaks openly about his partner, businessman Carlos Gonzalez Abella, saying, “My partner, my boyfriend is very sexy, very smart, very compassionate, but the most important thing [is] he loves my children. It’s very beautiful. Super cool. I am very happy.”
The special will premiere on VH1 Sunday, August 14 at 10 p.m.
Watch a clip below.
