Speaking Tuesday on the Oprah Winfrey
Show, singer Ricky Martin said he's stopped pretending to be somebody
else.
The thirty-eight-year-old Martin,
father of twin boys Valentino and Matteo, came out gay on a blog post
at this official website in March, but has not spoken publicly about
his decision until now.
Martin told his host that denying his
sexuality had become too burdensome.
“I couldn't take it anymore, Oprah,”
he said. “It was too painful.”
The gay dad said holding his twins sons
in his arms gave him the courage to come out of the closet.
“Before I decided to become a father,
I already accepted who I was. I was happy with who I was. When I
held my children, I said, OK it was time to tell the world,” he
said. (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The Livin' la Vida Loca singer
added that coming out gay has been a positive experience.
“If I knew how amazing it would make
me feel, I would've done it 10 years ago,” Martin said.
The interview coincides with the
release of Martin's memoir Me, set to hit store shelves on
Tuesday. A Spanish version titled Yo! is also available.