He radiates confidence, beauty and, above all, good vibes. That’s Ricky Martin. Although most thought he was living La vida loca, the truth was hiding his “real self” behind the ego of one of the kings of Latin music. In 2010 when Ricky broke free, his life changed. Partners like Carlos Gonzalez emerged, but the one who conquered him was Jwan Yosef. After four years of marriage, these lovebirds seem stronger than ever, but what is their story? Find out with us.
From Syria to Sweden and the world
Jwan Yosef was born in Syria into a multicultural family in 1984. His father, a Muslim Kurd, and his mother, an Armenian Orthodox Christian. They all decided to emigrate to Sweden to find a better quality of life.
Yosef is a visual artist, he holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Central Saint Martins in London, where he currently resides. He is uninhibited. He uses his body as an instrument to send messages of acceptance, respect and love. This is evidenced by his nudes, art and publications such as the Erotic Romance and DSECTION Magazine.
Jwan Yosef: the proud and empowered queer
“I think it’s a very empowering feeling to be queer… The queer history of the Arab world that we have today goes back thousands of years, and I think it’s beautiful and important, and I embrace it as a modern queer man,” so stated Jwan Yosef to My.Kali Magazineexpressing his position on his sexual identity.
It took Ricky years to come out of the closet, but her husband grew up in a space where it was a normal topic, and if you don’t believe us did you see Jwan’s style in this photo?
Family man
It is well known that Ricky Martin is a family man. Although his parents divorced when he was two years old, the union between them is one of his blessings. It is a similar case with her husband. While Jwan’s parents have been happily married for five decades, togetherness, respect and love are the fundamental pillars of the family.
Jwan Yosef often expresses the pride generated by the home he has built alongside the Grammy winner.
Jwan Yosef and his vision as a father
In keeping with his Middle Eastern roots, Jwan affectionately refers to his father as ‘baba’. The young Syrian-Swedish man breaks paradigms and offers a modern take on fatherhood.
“Sometimes I can be a mother and sometimes I can be a mother. It’s a very organic thing. For my husband. For my kids. We’re two loving parents who play different roles within our family, but sometimes we also trade off… I think it’s a reality that straight people face as well,” Jwan Yosef told My.Kali Magazine.
Rebecca de Alba: girlfriend and confidant
Rebecca and Ricky were one of the most famous couples in the artistic world. But their relationship ended in 2005.
This year, she expressed some words about what happened in an interview with Yordi Rosado: “And what does it matter if it turns out that you fall madly in love with a person who has another sexual preference, but who is faithful and respects you? And what does it matter if a person is gay, if what is worth it is what they are made of, what they bring you, what they give you, the value of their life”.
His great fear: “knowing my sexuality, will I be able to be a father?”
The Puerto Rican singer stated in Out magazine that, having grown up under Christian religious traditions, he found it hard to accept that a gay man could also be a father.
“For many years I dreamed of being a father, and many, many, many, many times I went through this grieving process that I’m gay, I’m a gay man in the closet, and I’m not going to be able to be a dad,” said the singer who added: “Adoption is an option and it’s very nice, but unfortunately for gay men it’s very difficult to adopt in some countries.”
How to choose the right donor?
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin explained how he chose the woman who would end up carrying his children.
“I said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ And she replied, ‘Because I’m a very spiritual woman, and I’ve never felt closer to God than in that moment when I can give the gift of life to someone who can’t do it on their own.’” He replied, “You are the one,” the Puerto Rican recalled as part of his telephone interview with the woman who rented his womb.
A family created by surrogacy
Long before Yosef came into his life, Ricky had the goal of having a family no matter what.
In 2008, when she decided to have her first children through surrogacy, rumors about her sexual preference flooded the news headlines. However, she ignored the comments as her dream came true. At the time, Ricky’s husband was finishing his Fine Art studies at the University College of Arts in Stockholm.
The arrival of the twins
“You were in my heart and you are still in my heart… There is a lady that I adore with all my heart and who helped me bring you into this world and she lent me her tummy for you to come and when you were born she put you in my arms,” Ricky replied to one of his twins when asked, “Dad I was in your tummy?”.
Ricky always said he dreamed of having a large family. And it started to become a reality with the arrival of Valentino and Matteo in 2008.
“I didn’t know if I was gay. I didn’t know if he was straight.”
“I didn’t know if I was gay. I didn’t know if I was straight. I didn’t know if I was bisexual. Bisexuality exists? What is this?” [/post_page_title] …. I decided to just feel and not think,” the Puerto Rican told María Elena Salinas.
It was March 2010, and the sex symbol was at a crossroads. It was either his career as it was known or his emotional stability. In the end, he posted: “Today I accept my homosexuality as a gift given to me by life. I feel blessed to be who I am!”.
The bells didn’t ring for Carlos Gonzalez and Ricky Martin
Media reports say that Ricky’s relationship with businessman Carlos Gonzalez rang wedding bells. Then, both surprised the world with their separation.
Carlos and Ricky’s romantic history ended in 2014, after sharing more than six years together. Gonzalez was even in the process of surrogacy for twins. However, the love you thought would last a lifetime sometimes comes to an end.
When Instagram is more effective than Tinder
During an interview with SiriusXM Radio, Martin told Andy Cohen that he and Yosef first came into contact on Instagram when he came across the artist’s work while scrolling. He was impressed and immediately reached out to him.
The couple took things slow. For six months they continued to communicate between DM and WhatsApp. “We talked about art, nothing sexy…. I swear, nothing sexy. We talked about art and life in general. He lived in London, I went to London,” Martin said.
Love at first sight
This relationship is one of those cases of love at first sight. They began to share trips and to consolidate a relationship keeping their adventures in private. However, it was the plastic artist who unleashed suspicions of their romance with the publication of a snapshot in March 2016.
A month later the couple walked the red carpet of the amfAR organization in Brazil, confirming their courtship. In May they already attended their first wedding as a couple, that of Eva Longoria and Jose Antonio Baston Patino.
An unusual “Will you marry me?”
“I got down on one knee and pulled out the little metal box. I had the ring in a little velvet bag and instead of saying, will you marry me, I said, I have something for you,” the Puerto Rican singer told Ellen DeGeneres about his marriage proposal to Jwan Yosef in November 2016.
In an unusual and funny way, Ricky Martin made his proposal. The artist commented that his nervousness prevented him from saying, “Will you marry me?”. However, the answer was a “Yes.”
A full, but discreet wedding
The love and complicity of these men are so genuine that they decided to get married without having an ostentatious party. Everything was improvised, discreet, but full.
Sometime in 2017, Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef secretly got married and some time later, the singer confirmed it. Although there are plans for their dream wedding, the couple has yet to confirm the event. Ricky limited himself to say that the party will last a minimum of four days. We’ll just say we’re looking forward to the invitation.
And with you, Princess Lucia!
After the wedding, Ricky and Yosef were quick to add more members to the family. In 2019, the couple welcomed the princess of the house, Lucia.
“We have named her Lucia Martin-Yosef. This has certainly been a birthday and celebration of a once-in-a-lifetime Christmas in our lives. Both her siblings and Jwan and I are completely in love with our baby girl and grateful to be able to start this 2019 with the best gift we could have received, the gift of life,” the parents posted on their Instagram accounts.
Is Eglantina Zingg the biological mother of the Martin-Yosef babies?
Since the twins were born in 2008, interest was aroused to know the identity of the donor of the eggs.
Given the friendship, coincidences and kinship with Eglantina Zingg, in the networks circulates the theory that she is the biological mother of the children. The story seemed to have been forgotten. However, in 2021, after the publication of a beautiful postcard with the little princess of the house, Lucia Martin-Yosef at the age of two, doubts returned. None of those involved have issued a statement on the matter, but does it matter?
Renn: the Boricua Arab
If we thought three was enough, we were wrong. Also in 2019, the couple formed by Ricky and Yosef confirmed through their social networks their fourth child: Baby Renn.
To be exact, “the baby of the house” arrived on October 29, 2019 in their lives to make it even happier. Just like Valentino and Matteo, Renn was born through a surrogate. Although the couple prefers to keep their personal lives private, they have shared heartwarming photos of the little one.
A possible separation?
Although the Puerto Rican and the Syrian-Swedish form one of the most solid marriages of the moment. They have had certain moments where love has been put to the test. Here we tell you about the most recent one.
It turns out that, after the adoption of their little Lucia, the couple couldn’t be happier. But problems arose due to Ricky’s overprotection of his daughter. Yosef commented that it was a bit of a disconcerting moment as her husband wouldn’t let her get close to the baby.
His activism in the LGTBQ+ community
Ricky Martin and his husband are emerging as one of the most influential activist couples in the gay community in the United States and Latin America.
Both raise their voices from their platforms to prevent and eradicate abuse and discrimination against the gay community. Since the Puerto Rican singer declared to be openly gay, he has tried to be a global spokesperson to demand respect for diversity. For his part Yosef has always exposed his position through his art.
Jwan Yosef’s impact on Ricky’s life
After living half her life in hiding, Ricky Martin has expressed that her husband came into her life to save her.
The La mordidita performer came to feel misunderstood when he had not yet taken the step of coming out of the closet. For years, he maintained public relationships with women, but a part of him knew he didn’t belong. According to media reports, Ricky had a few affairs with men before coming out, but his constant fear didn’t allow the romances to move forward, until Yosef came along.
The controversy of dual parenting
“Is it normal for your children to grow up with two parents?”, “when they ask you about their mother, what do you answer?”. These are some of the uncomfortable questions that Yosef and Ricky have had to face since they both exercise the role of mothers and fathers to their four children.
“My kids ask me about having two dads and I tell them we’re part of a modern family. It’s a beautiful sense of freedom,” theThe Cup of Life singer explained to the media.
“I am a threat to these people”
“I am a Latino man, homosexual, married to an Arab man living in the United States: I am a threat to these people, everywhere you look,” Ricky expressed in an interview with journalist Enrique Santos.
After the 2020 demonstrations in U.S. territory, Ricky Martin and her husband showed their support to the Afro-descendant community. However, in an interview in June, the artist said he was afraid for himself, his husband and his family.
The couple’s big kiss in Before the World Ends
“When will we go out again, that’s anybody’s guess. Better, for now we give each other a kiss before the world ends,” Residente sings in one of his latest songs.
The former member of Calle 13 premiered in 2020 the music video for his song Antes Que el Mundo Se Acabe, one of the most viralized songs during the pandemic. For the video, the artist invited celebrities from around the world to star in an intense kiss. Among them, Ricky Martin and his husband did not miss the opportunity.
For love there is no age
Jwan Yosef is 37 years old, 12 years younger than Ricky, but this difference is only a number not relevant when love is the bond of a relationship. And this is one of those cases.
Some pointed out this difference as an “obstacle” associated with problems inherent to maturity. Since 2016, after being spotted holding hands on a vacation, Ricky and Yosef proved that, if two people agree on their life plans, there is respect and honest affection then it is their right place.
The greatest teaching of their lives
For Ricky Martin and his husband, life has not been as rosy as most people think. They have had to face losses, tragic loves, anxiety and situations that have led them to become depressed.
However, they both try to prove as a gay couple that beyond the problems, everyone has the opportunity to be happy in places where they have been judged, discriminated against and even harassed. The lesson is to learn, get up and get on with life, leaving behind the Half-living style.
The big question is: will they have more children
“There are moments when I want 10 more kids, and then there are those mornings when everyone is crying and I say, “Ok, we’re fine with being six,” the singer expressed in an interview forPeople en Español magazine.
Believe it or not, the most frequently asked questions for the couple are about how many children they plan to have. In Ricky’s case, he dreams of having a large family while Yosef just wants to make his husband happy.
Like two peas in a pod
The answer to that question was not given to wait as long as we thought. Well, the new member of the Martin-Yosef family is little Renn, who was also born through surrogacy. Although they haven’t said it directly, Ricky has implied that, this time, Renn’s biological father would be her husband, Jwan Yosef.
The truth is, comparing Renn and Jwan as a baby, there’s no doubt about it – they even share the same chin dimple! The son brought out the beauty of the father, in a happy family.
Time for grandchildren
Even with four beautiful children, the question of whether they will have more children doesn’t seem to go away in Ricky’s interviews. We know that before marrying Jwan, Ricky dreamed of a large family and, even with six in the family, he still does.
Ricky sometimes says he wants more, but that sometimes his four children cry simultaneously and he realizes that a family of six is enough. Jocularly, he has said that, if no more children come, there will surely be grandchildren.
Four sons, two generations
Something very significant among Ricky Martin’s children and what he has referred to on several occasions is that they are two generations of sons. The first two, Valentino and Matteo, are twins and were born in 2008, so they are already beginning their adolescence, while the younger ones are only two and three years old.
That has especially allowed Ricky to be able to live two totally different experiences of fatherhood, in which the love and responsibility of being a father change completely.
An unparalleled cultural mix
What were the odds of a Spanish naturalized American marrying a Swedish naturalized Syrian? In truth, very low, but love overcame the distances and Ricky Martin fell madly in love with Jwan Yosef, which generated an incredible cultural mix.
The couple’s children will most likely speak English and Spanish, but it is very likely that they will also master some knowledge of Arabic and Swedish. And when it comes to nationalities, how many passports would the little ones be eligible for?
