Ricky Martin's M.A.S. world tour has landed in the UK, where he's told a daily that coming out gay made him feel protected.

Martin came out gay last year on his blog – writing that he was “a fortunate homosexual man” – and subsequently talked about his experience in his memoir Me.

When asked by UK daily the Guardian how he's feeling about his announcement today, Martin said with a laugh that he feels “liberated.”

“I feel protected,” he added, suddenly serious. “I don't feel alone. Because sometimes when you're quiet about yourself, you feel all alone. And all of the sudden you come out and you have this amazing community, the LGBT community, and LGBT-friendly people, who are giving you nothing but love. And if I focus on this, I get tears in my eyes, because, oh my God, I wish everyone that was struggling right now could feel what I'm feeling as I'm talking to you. It's just love coming from every fucking direction!”

Martin added that he hated attempts to out him: “I hated it when people tried to force me out when I wasn't ready. It was very painful, and it actually pushed me away from doing so.”