Ricky Martin has a new interview in Parade Magazine, and it’s kind of inspiring how happy and enthusiastic he is at this stage in his life. Martin, 39, became the father to twin boys born via surrogate in August, 2008. He introduced his twins to the world when they were four months old, and admitted at the time that he was raising them alone without the help of even a nanny. Then in March of last year, Ricky came out of the closet as gay to the surprise of just about no one. He subsequently put out a memoir and is about to release a new album and embark on a world tour. Ricky tells Parade that he “can’t wait” to be back on stage and he also gushes about his kids, saying he knows it’s a cliche to be such a proud dad but he can’t help it!

The best thing about Ricky.
“My children. I can’t deny that. A lot of people say, ‘Wow, you’re a single father of twin boys, that’s crazy!’ Two toddlers can get hectic, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Every day they teach me different things. The love is there. When you have a two-year-old saying every other hour, ‘Papi, te amo. Papi, I love you,’ it can’t get better.”

What fatherhood has taught him.
“Heavy lessons about simplicity and unconditional love. I don’t want to sound cliche, another father talking about unconditional love, but man, that’s the way it is. You hear it all the time, but when you feel this other branch of love getting stronger and stronger every day, it’s just amazing.”

His kids are budding musicians.
“It’s incredible. And it’s not that I’m forcing it on them. The other day I took them to a toy store and they went straight to this tiny piano. And I’m like, ‘Look at the robot!’ But no, it was the piano. Both of them. So it’s very beautiful.”

On being a voice in the gay community.
“There’s no pressure from anybody. It’s something I feel really good about doing. I have been an activist for human rights for many years. Today, I’m in touch with who I am and I have the opportunity to be in front of a camera and talk to millions of people. After I wrote the book and went on Oprah Winfrey, so many people have come to me, telling me, ‘Ricky, thank you because I understand what acceptance is today.’ ‘Ricky, thank you. I feel better about myself because you have a very beautiful family and the words ‘dysfunctional family’ don’t exist in your life.’”

His message has impacted a new generation.
“The other day, I was in a store and there was this 13-year-old child who he told me, ‘Ricky, you and me, we are the same! You like boys. Well, you know what? Me too! And this is my mom and she’s happy with me today.’ Are you kidding me? I had to give him a hug and I had to give his mother a hug because unfortunately — because of society or faith — parents struggle. It’s all about love.”

[From Parade]

What a happy, grounded guy Ricky is. I love that story about how the gay teen came up to him and Ricky gave him and his mom a hug! Ricky is slated to star on Broadway in 2012 as Che Guevara in Evita. He may not have had help with his kids when they were born, but I hope he’s got a nanny now. With that busy work schedule, he’s going to need one.

Here’s Ricky at a Bulgari event on 1/13/11. He’s a candidate for HGF for sure. Credit: Fame

Later today, Ricky Martin is the special guest on Oprah. It was a pre-taped interview, so clips from the show are already going around. Not so shockingly, Ricky is talking mainly about coming out of the closet and becoming a father. I think he’s probably also promoting his new book – a memoir called Me (I would have added an exclamation point: ME! By Ricky Martin). Some excerpts have already come out (here at Towleroad), and it seems like a lot of the book is about the same – bein’ gay and raisin’ babies. Did you know that Ricky is a single parent? For some reason, I thought that he had a long-time lover/partner who was co-parenting with him, but not so much:

In an interview airing Tuesday on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Ricky Martin opens up about his decision to come out.

“I couldn’t take it anymore, Oprah,” he says of being in the closet. “I couldn’t take it anymore. It was too painful. But I guess the most important thing is my children. You know, my children. When I was holding them in my arms, I was like, what am I gonna teach them – how to lie? Whoa, that is my blessing right there. And I said hold on a second. Before I decided to become a father, I already accepted who I was and I was happy with who I was. Then, when I was I was holding my children, I said, okay, it’s time to tell the world.”

The 38-year-old Martin — father to 2-year-old twin sons, Valentino and Matteo, via a surrogate — announced the news in an email last March. It read, “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man.”

Asked how he felt when he hit the “send” button, Martin tells Winfrey, “I felt numb. Numb.”

Though he was scared, he says he also felt “relieved. But when I realized, okay, I just pressed send, whoo. And then I was alone. I was in my studio alone for a minute. My assistant walked in and I just started crying like a little baby. I started crying. And he [had to] hold me. He told me, please, he would grab me in the arms — in my arms. He goes, let it go. Let it go. Finally you’re free.”

Fatherhood has changed everything, he says. When he brought the babies home, Martin says he became “obsessed” with trying to do everything himself. That lasted “seven weeks …” he says. “Seven weeks [of] not sleeping. Seven weeks. And then I was alone. Two against one. It was, like, wait, wait.”

He says he feels “incredible” respect for his own mother and mothers of the world.

“It’s not easy,” Martin says of parenthood. “And apparently it gets harder.”

[From Us Weekly]

Ricky sounds really sweet here, and I think it will probably be a very good, weepy interview. Ricky wants to talk, he’s promoting his book, and he hasn’t given a big interview in America in a long time. It should be good television. I wonder if Oprah will really get into it about Ricky’s relationships? You know how much I love the homoerotic stories. I hope Ricky brings photos of his hot exes, but he probably won’t. So in my mind, I’ll have to go to the old stand-by: Daniel Craig. Think about Daniel and Ricky together… oh, yeah. That’s good stuff.

Photos courtesy of WENN. ‘Me’ book cover courtesy of Towleroad.

This video is kind of awesome. I didn’t read what it was about before watching it, and I kept waiting for some pro-gay-rights message to appear. It never does – this is a video Ricky sent out via Twitter to promote his new tour. It’s basically just Ricky Martin, naked, writhing around sensually and sometimes jerkily to a very soft trip-hop style instrumental, all the while inspirational “tattoos” (written in Spanish) appear on his skin magically. I might have had an acid flashback with this one. It’s all good, I enjoyed it.

After finally revealing the truth about his sexuality Ricky Martin is clearly keen to start a fresh chapter in his life. And clearly empowered by his recent decision to live an openly gay life, in his first video since coming out , singer Ricky doesn’t hold anything back.

In a candid video promoting his comeback concert tour, he appears completely naked save for a few well-placed digital tattoos.

The soft focus video features a minimalist soundtrack, and jerky camera work, which acts a metaphor for Ricky’s reawakening.

The singer is seen slumbering on a white lit floor, as the camera pans over his body. It sees him naked in various positions, with tattoo-like effects emerging on his skin with inspirational messages in Spanish such as ‘find yourself’, ‘forgive’ and ‘change your life’. At one stage his crotch area has to be covered by a ‘shadow’. And slowly his body restarts jerkily coming to life.

Ricky sent out a link to the risqué video – a promo for his new tour Black & White – to his followers on Twitter.

In his tweet he told fans the 2-minute video, called My Skin Talks, was directed by his friend Dago Gonzales.

[From The Daily Mail]

I think The Daily Mail is treating this video as some kind of “confirmation” that Ricky is in fact gay. Like, he already said he was, and now we have the video proof! I wonder if this director, Dago Gonzales/z, is the boyfriend? Maybe they are just friends, though. I have no idea.

Shocking absolutely zero people, Ricky Martin has come out of the closet. Finally! I’ve known he was gay ever since he gasped when he met Madonna live at the Grammys back in 1999. I knew he was gay when he tried to come halfway out of the closet by sort-of admitting he was bisexual. Don’t lie, he beeped on everybody’s gaydar. Anyway, Ricky chose not to come out on the cover of The Advocate or in one of the respected gay publications. Ricky didn’t even go the People Magazine route (aka, “pulling a Lance Bass”). Instead, he decided to come out on his website, and he wrote a long explanation for this whole thing too. Drama queen! No, I get it. He wants to explain:

A few months ago I decided to write my memoirs, a project I knew was going to bring me closer to an amazing turning point in my life. 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 thisis something worth celebrating.

For many years, there has been only one place where I am in touch with my emotions fearlessly and that’s the stage. Being on stage fills my soul in many ways, almost completely. It’s my vice. The music, the lights and the roar of the audience are elements that make me feel capable of anything. This rush of adrenaline is incredibly addictive. I don’t ever want to stop feeling these emotions. But it is serenity that brings me to where I’m at right now. An amazing emotional place of comprehension, reflection and enlightenment. At this moment I’m feeling the same freedom I usually feel only on stage, without a doubt, I need to share.

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. 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.

If someone asked me today, “Ricky, what are you afraid of?” I would answer “the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war…child slavery, terrorism…the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith.” But fear of my truth? Not at all! On the contrary, It fills me with strength and courage. This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.

These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.

What will happen from now on? It doesn’t matter. I can only focus on what’s happening to me in this moment. The word “happiness” takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.

[From Ricky Martin’s website]

I love that sentence: “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man.” It makes me giggle because I keep thinking that somewhere in this world, some dude is coming out of the closet by telling his parents “I am an unfortunate homosexual man.” I also liked that Ricky name checked his “fears”: “the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war…child slavery, terrorism…the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith.” When you put it like that, how can we not accept his gayness, right? It’s not like he’s not a terrorist!

Anyway, congratulations to Ricky. Well done! Here’s what I want to know now – does he have a partner/boyfriend? I’m thinking he does, just because you never hear about Ricky going out to gay clubs and hitting on men. I would also bet that the partner/boyfriend is helping Ricky raise those cute little twin boys!

Proud papa Ricky Martin is showing off some new pictures of his adorable twin sons Matteo and Valentino. And not to get all smushy and girly, but they are way too cute. Ricky either has a special kind of love for his sons or is just better at putting it into words, because when he talks about them my heart gets all fluttery. There might have been tears. I’m not saying one way or the other. But his undying affection for them is clear, both in the cute pictures and his interviews.

He used to live the “vida loca,” but life has slowed down considerably for Ricky Martin since welcoming his fraternal twins, Matteo and Valentino, by gestational surrogate last August.

Sharing personal photos of himself enjoying the sun and surf with the boys on his Web site, Martin, 37, says that fatherhood “feels amazing.”

“I’m so happy! Everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing,” Martin says of his 1-year-old twins. “This has been the most spiritual moment in my life.”

[From People]

Ricky gave a really touching interview to People when the boys were seven months old (which People excerpted above) in which he talked about the joys of being a father and how different his sons are. He doesn’t have a nanny and takes care of Matteo and Valentino on his own – though admits he has an assistant who takes care of HIM.

PEOPLE: Describe this time in your life
MARTIN: I’m so happy! Everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing. Being a father feels amazing. This has been the most spiritual moment in my life.

How hands-on are you as a father?
I don’t have a nanny. I’m doing this on my own because I don’t want to miss a moment. I have a personal assistant who helps me, someone who takes care of me while I’m taking care of them, but I’m the one who changes the diapers, the one that feeds them, the one that bathes them, the one that puts them to sleep. For any parent, the first couple of months tend to get a little bit intense.

Why did you choose to become a parent via surrogate?
Adoption was one option, but it’s complicated and can take a long time. Surrogacy was an intriguing and faster option. I thought, ‘I’m going to jump into this with no fear.’

Tell us about Valetino’s and Matteo’s personalities.
Valentino loves to sleep. I call him ‘Mr. Peace and Love’ because he’s so chill and serene. Matteo is more alert and active. He was up at 3 a.m. the other night and just hanging!

What is your philosophy on raising your sons?
I love to read books to my sons and tell them stories. I play music for them so they develop their own personalities. I want to give them information and raise them with honesty and love, and give them self-esteem and a lot of acceptance.

[From People]

Clearly Ricky wanted to be a father badly and it seems like he’s incredibly appreciative of his blessings. His sons are so cute, and even though they don’t look all that similar to each other, they both still look like Ricky. Here are the adorable pictures from Ricky’s website. Photos are credited to Pablo Alfaro.

Singer Ricky Martin, 37, is quietly raising twin boys born through a surrogate. Little Valetino and Matteo are about ten months old and Ricky told People last year that he loves being a father and caring for his infant sons. He doesn’t have a nanny or help with the twins, and just has a personal assistant so that he can fully devote himself to being a father. Martin sounds like he doesn’t want to miss a moment with his sons and said that “everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing.” It’s unknown whether he has a partner of either gender.

When the news came out that Martin was raising children presumably as a single father he received some criticism from a Catholic Cardinal from Honduras who claimed that “You can’t just buy or rent life.” There was also continued speculation over Martin’s orientation, which he didn’t address while introducing his sons last December. His personal life is his own business and if he wants to keep it private you can’t blame him. He sounds like a loving, devoted dad to his sons and that’s all that matters. No one bashes female celebrities for adopting or having children as single parents. It just doesn’t seem fair to target a male for wanting to raise children and acting like his orientation should be any kind of issue.

Martin supposedly sort-of admitted he’s bisexual in a recent Spanish-language interview in a TV magazine from his native Puerto Rico, saying his “heart could belong to a man or a woman”:

Big Announcement For Ricky Martin?: Is Ricky Martin about to live his “La Vida Loca” in a whole new way? According to the latest issue of Puerto Rico’s TV Aqui magazine, as reported by Perez Hilton, the singer told editor Saudy Rivera that “his heart could belong to a woman or a man.” Either direction, we can’t wait to see who ends up shaking his “bon bon” with!

[From NBC Chicago via PopCrunch]

If any of our Spanish-speaking readers could please confirm this statement with a link to the original article we would appreciate it. It’s possible this is a misreported or misinterpreted rumor. If Ricky did say this, good for him for being open and honest about it. Maybe he’s single now and looking for someone to help complete his family.

Ricky Martin is shown on 2/21/09. Credit: WENN.com

Hands-on single father Ricky Martin is said to love fatherhood so much that he’s hoping to adopt a baby girl. Martin has five month old boy twins Matteo and Valentino who were born through a surrogate mother. The 37 year-old singer is reported to be in the process of adopting a daughter from Puerto Rico and has plans to bring her home this summer.

According to a pal, [Ricky Martin is] now planning to adopt a girl from his native Puerto Rico in 2009. “Ricky loves his sons more than anything in the world, but he’s always wanted to have a daughter, too,” his friend explains. “He’s already started the process and hopes to have baby number three by June.”

[From In Touch, print edition, January 12, 2008]

Martin told People Magazine in early December that he doesn’t have a nanny or any help and is enjoying the process of raising the babies on his own. He explained that he does have a personal assistant to help with his own needs, but that he loves taking care of the infants and added “I don’t want to miss a moment.”

Martin has not addressed speculation about his orientation and there has been some mild criticism from conservatives who question his motivation for raising children on his own. Given the way he bragged to People about how great his kids are you can see that he was just thrilled to be a dad. He said “Everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing.”

Congratulations to Martin and if this story is true he’ll soon have another little blessing in his house.

Update: People Magazine cover via Popcrunch

Singer Ricky Martin, 36, will reveal his four month old boy twins in the upcoming issue of People, and judging from the small picture on People’s website they’re adorable. Matteo and Valentino Martin were born from a surrogate rumored to be Martin’s cousin. (If this rumor is true she was probably just the gestational carrier and not the twin’s biological mother.) Martin says he is a devoted father and that he has no nanny or nurse to help with the babies. It sounds like he really loves being a dad and wants to be there for his sons:

PEOPLE: Describe this time in your life
MARTIN: I’m so happy! Everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing. Being a father feels amazing. This has been the most spiritual moment in my life.

How hands-on are you as a father?
I don’t have a nanny. I’m doing this on my own because I don’t want to miss a moment. I have a personal assistant who helps me, someone who takes care of me while I’m taking care of them, but I’m the one who changes the diapers, the one that feeds them, the one that bathes them, the one that puts them to sleep. For any parent, the first couple of months tend to get a little bit intense.

Why did you choose to become a parent via surrogate?
Adoption was one option, but it’s complicated and can take a long time. Surrogacy was an intriguing and faster option. I thought, ‘I’m going to jump into this with no fear.’

Tell us about Valetino’s and Matteo’s personalities.
Valentino loves to sleep. I call him ‘Mr. Peace and Love’ because he’s so chill and serene. Matteo is more alert and active. He was up at 3 a.m. the other night and just hanging!

What is your philosophy on raising your sons?
I love to read books to my sons and tell them stories. I play music for them so they develop their own personalities. I want to give them information and raise them with honesty and love, and give them self-esteem and a lot of acceptance.

[From People]

Martin is rumored to be gay, but I think if he revealed anything about his orientation to People we would be hearing about it. Good for him for becoming a dad and taking such good care of his sons. He sounds like he’s truly thrilled by the process.

Martin has received some criticism from Catholic leaders and from a Mexican talk show host for choosing to father children without a partner. It hardly seems fair to say that he shouldn’t be a single parent when it’s a perfectly viable option for women. You can tell that he loves his sons and really cherishes them.

In August there was a story that celebrity magazines weren’t interested in photographs of Martin’s newborns because, according to an unnamed editor (Bonnie *cough* *cough*) “We don’t think he is going to tell the backstory, so the whole thing just seems kind of icky.” It sounds atypical that a single young guy would wants to raise two children on his own, but I would hardly call it “icky.” Words like “noble” and “dedicated” are more likely to come to mind.

Ricky Martin is shown on 10/16/08 getting his star on the Walk of Fame. Credit: Bauergriffin

Ricky Martin announced last week that he was the father to several weeks old twin baby boys born through a surrogate, but didn’t provide much more information about it. The 36 year-old singer said he was “elated to begin this new chapter in his life” and from the way his statement was worded it sounded like he would be raising the twins alone, but that wasn’t directly said. It’s possible he has either a female or male partner but doesn’t feel like disclosing that information to the public.

A high-ranking member of the religious community has spoken out about Ricky’s decision to become a maybe-single parent through surrogacy. The cardinal of Honduras says Ricky is somehow buying children like products, which is disrespectful of human life. A Mexican talk show host also calls Ricky selfish for his actions:

The Puerto Rican singer recently fathered twin boys, born to a surrogate mother, who is rumoured to be a cousin of the singer.

And, following on from congratulations from his pop peers, those who aren’t happy about Martin’s new paternal role are speaking out now.

The cardinal of Honduras, Oscar Andres Rodriguez, accuses the singer of going against human dignity.

On a visit to Chile, the Catholic leader said, “What Martin did diminishes the dignity of a human being. You can’t just buy or rent life. It’s even worse when someone famous and in the public eye is doing it.”

And he isn’t alone – Mexican talk show host Esteban Arce has also spoken out against Martin.

On his show Matutino Express, Arce said, “I don’t think it’s right to deny children of maternal figures, just because you have a big ego.”

[From Contact Music]

If the mother really is Ricky’s cousin, the boys may at least have contact with her and know their history when they get older. If it’s his first cousin, though, that brings up all sorts of genetic questions if his sperm was used to inseminate her. (Update: it’s also possible that another woman’s eggs were used and that his cousin was just the surrogate, which would mean there are no genetic issues of course. Thanks Bleeker!)

How is it ego-driven to have children? That’s one of the most selfless things you can do. This guy should be applauded.

On Monday we reported a story that an unnamed magazine editor called Ricky’s new role as a father “icky” because his reasons for doing it were not known. The editor said that magazines are not too eager to publish the photos of the twins because they don’t think Ricky is willing to talk much about it. No one calls it icky when single moms like Sheryl Crow, Meg Ryan and Mary-Louise Parker chose to adopt.

Ricky is shown getting his star on the Walk of fame on 10/16/07. Credit: Nikki Nelson / WENN

Singer Ricky Martin, 36, surprised a lot of people by announcing last Wednesday that he would be raising twin boys that were born a few weeks ago through gestational surrogate. MSat said that pretty much settled the case on those gay rumors, and she could be right. The NY Daily News writes that there’s not a high demand for the photos given the kind of mysterious way they appeared without warning.

Celebrity magazines, which usually start sparring over exclusive photos the second a famous sperm hits an egg, are backing off, top editors tell us.

“We aren’t jumping like we usually do,” one editor said. “We don’t think he is going to tell the backstory, so the whole thing just seems kind of icky.”

Martin’s rep John Reilly said they’ve received inquiries from various media outlets, but wouldn’t comment on whether Ricky is negotiating.

Word in magazine land is that someone will end up running a photo of Martin (who admitted last week that he is now caring for twin sons delivered through an unnamed surrogate) and his babies somewhere in the glossies, but that the family isn’t cover-worthy.

“When someone seems like they are hiding something, it’s a big turnoff to the public, who want to share in celebrities’ lives,” another editor spilled. “No one really cared about Clay Aiken becoming a single dad, either.”
The National Enquirer, naturally, has reporters hot on the trail of the mystery mama.

[From The NY Daily News]

I can’t wait to see what The National Enquirer digs up. They’re on fire lately and keep getting the exclusives.

It’s pretty obnoxious for their insider to say it’s “icky” that a single guy is choosing to raise two kids on his own. How is that icky? Does single man automatically indicate “pedophile” to these people? Having children is a human desire, and I find it touching that he wants to bring up kids and now has twins. I’d love to see those photos and hear more about it, but editors are right that some vague explanation of how the babies came about isn’t going to cut it. People want to know why he didn’t go the traditional route and if he’s truly single or has a partner helping him. Either way, congratulations to Martin. Wouldn’t you rather hear of a singer raising twins than hooking up randomly with some other celebrity for 2-3 months at a stretch? You all know who I’m talking about.

Ricky Martin is shown at the Latin Grammy Awards on 11/8/07. Credit: PRN / PR Photos