Ricky Martin, Jwan Yosef are divorcing after nearly 6 years of marriage
Jwan Yosef, left, and Ricky Martin say they are ending their nearly six-year marriage. Credit: Getty Images / Dia Dipasupil
Latin-music superstar Ricky Martin and his husband, painter-sculptor Jwan Yosef, announced Thursday that they are divorcing after nearly six years of marriage.
“For some time, we have considered transforming our relationship,” each posted on their social media, with Puerto Rico-born Martin doing so in both English and Spanish, “and it is after careful consideration that we have decided to end our marriage with love, respect, and dignity for our children — preserving and honoring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years.”
Martin, 51, is the father of nearly 15-year-old fraternal twin sons Valentino and Matteo, born via a surrogate in August 2008, while he and Yosef, 38, are the parents of daughter Lucía Martin-Yosef, 4, and son Renn Martin-Yosef, 3. “Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centered on our genuine friendship as we continue the joint upbringing of our children,” the joint message continued.
“As always, we thank you for all the love and support we received throughout our marriage,” it concluded. “We are united in nurturing this new chapter of our lives.”
Martin, a former singer in the boy band Menudo, became an American radio star with his 1999 No. 1 hit "Livin' La Vida Loca" and the No. 2 "She's All I Ever Had.”
Yosef, who has exhibited his work in Europe and the United States, was born in Syria of a Kurdish Muslim father and an Armenian Greek Orthodox mother, and raised in Sweden from age 2. As an adult he settled in London. His diptych painting “Repeat to Remember” was one of 105 winners of the 2013 Threadneedle Prize, awarded by the Federation of British Artists’ Mall Galleries.
Two-time Grammy Award winner Martin in November 2016 announced the couple's engagement, telling daytime talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres he and Yosef had “known each other for more than a year now, officially since January.” They had met through the singer's art collecting, he said. "I started looking for art and I saw his art and I went crazy because I really love what he does. Really original. And I contacted him." They had made their red-carpet debut that April at the amFAR Inspiration Gala in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Martin told E! News in January 2018 that he and Yosef had recently married, without specifying a date or place.
