Ricky Martin SPLITS from husband Jwan Yosef after six years of marriage
Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef are divorcing after six years of marriage.
The Puerto Rican singer, 51, and the Syrian-Swedish artist, 38, shared the news in a joint statement on Thursday as they vowed to continue amicably co-parenting their children.
They share daughter Lucia, four, and son Renn, three, while Ricky is also parents to twin sons Matteo and Valentino, 14, whom he’ll continue to raise as a single parent.
In a heartfelt announcement, the pair revealed they were ending things on amicable terms as they insisted they still have ‘love and respect for each other.’
It began: ‘We have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children and honoring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years.’
The statement, shared with PEOPLE, went on: ‘Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centered on peace and friendship to continue the joint upbringing of our children, preserving the respect and love we have for each other.’
Ricky and Jwan met virtually through Instagram in 2015, and it was only after several months of digital communication that he made the trek to London to finally meet Yosef in person.
The following year the Livin’ La Vida Loca singer revealed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the two were engaged, and in January 2018 he revealed that they had secretly wed.
‘I saw his art and I went crazy because I really love what he does. Really original. And I contacted him and then I collected him,’ Ricky – born Enrique Morales – told Ellen shortly after his engagement.
Although Ricky already had his older twin sons, the two were excited to have more children together.
In December 2018, the singer revealed that they had welcomed a daughter and they welcomed a son together the following year.
Ricky welcomed his sons in 2008 via a surrogate, and at the time he defended the process as being faster and simpler for a single father.
It wasn’t until two years later that he would finally come out as gay after dating men and women on and off in the preceding years.