Ricky Martin took a moment to celebrate the special milestone of his rarely-seen twin sons, Valentino and Matteo, who will turn 18 on August 9.
The star shared a throwback snap of the pair from their childhood that saw them jumping into a pool together, with Ricky's song "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" playing in the background. "Celebrating the 18th birthday of the loves of my life all week long. I love you, my children," he wrote in the caption.
© InstagramBecoming a father
The singer welcomed his sons via surrogate in 2008, after believing that he would never become a father. "Many years I dreamt of being a father, and many, many, many times I went through this grieving process of 'I am gay, I am a closeted gay man, and I'm not going to be able to be a daddy,'" he told Out magazine.
Ricky came out as gay in a post on his website in 2010, after being linked to several high-profile women, including Mexican model and presenter Rebecca de Alba.
© Getty Images"My kids ask me about having two daddies, and I tell them we are a part of a modern family," he continued. "This is a beautiful sense of freedom."
Ricky expanded his family when he married Jwan Yosef in 2017, and welcomed kids Lucia and Renn with him via surrogate in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Ricky and Jwan went their separate ways in July 2023, and committed to peaceful co-parenting.
Growing up
The 54-year-old star opened up about the moment his twins began to understand his fame, sharing on The Kelly Clarkson Show that the shine eventually wore off for them.
"I have four kids. I have twin boys, 15-year-olds, they've always been traveling with me. They're homeschooled," he explained.
© Getty"When they were like five or six, I allowed them to go in front of the stage, because, for me, I thought it was too overstimulating because they would always see me from backstage. So they went in front of the stage, and when they came back they go 'Oh, got it, Daddy. You are Ricky Martin.'"
"It was just so beautiful," he continued. "And now it's, 'Whatever, Dad. You did it wrong, you gotta do that again.' Now it's a different story."
Like father like son
© InstagramAs for whether Valentino and Matteo will follow in his musical footsteps, Ricky shared with Extra in 2020 that the former was an aspiring YouTuber and the latter was more interested in the arts. He added that even if they did choose a career in the entertainment industry, he would support them no matter what.
"When I was 12 years old, I told my father that I wanted to be an artist and he supported me. I am very thankful, Dad, for that, for just coming with me on this journey, so I have to do the same," he said. "I have the experience. I will clean the path for them."
