While “intense journey” may have been putting it mildly, considering the fear, confusion and self-loathing he had to overcome on the way to accepting his truth, his true fans barely batted an eye, just happy that their heartthrob sounded so happy. He wrote in Me that, while he knew he was among the lucky ones, his coming out experience had been “only positive and empowering.”
Then it was back to the life of your average global-celebrity dad, walking the tricky balance between being newly open about his sexuality but also still fiercely protective of his family’s privacy. He focused on parenting Matteo and Valentino, fell in and out of love a few times before finding lasting happiness with Yosef (whom he exchanged messages with for six months before they met in person), and started advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in his native Puerto Rico.
“If I have the platform that social media has given me to talk to 75 million people, it would be horrible not to talk about the things that people need to hear,” he told Out last year.
Martin announced the birth of Renn, his fourth child, while accepting the Human Rights Campaign’s National Visibility Award for his years of good work in 2019. ”I love you,” he told Yosef, adding, ”My beautiful twins, Valentino and Matteo, they’re also here. I love you with all my heart, you’re my strength, you inspire me every day, you motivate me to keep doing what I’m doing and you guys are amazing kids.”
He continued, “I love you. Lucia, my baby girl who is not here with us, she stayed at home with Grandma, but she’s also the light of my life.”