Singer Ricky Martin says his father encouraged him to come out as gay

Singer Ricky Martin has revealed that his father encouraged him to come out publicly as gay. 

The singer opened up about deciding to come out as gay during an interview on Sirius XM’s “Andy Cohen Live”. Martin said not everyone was in alignment on whether or not he should let the world know.

Martin told Andy his professional team told him it wasn’t a good idea to reveal himself as an openly gay man. He also said they were quite certain it could kill his career.

But, Ricky further explained that his father understood the importance of coming out and pushed him to tell the world after his two sons were born in 2008. He noted that his father told him he can’t start out by teaching his children it’s better to lie than be yourself.

Martin said he took his time formulating a letter to tell the world he was gay and then tweeted it out, and he said he felt instant relief.

Ricky has since had some very public relationships with men, including his high-profile marriage to Swedish artist Jwan Yosef from 2017 until their divorce last year.