Ricky Martin: Why I Came Out

It wasn't exactly a startling revelation, but Ricky Martin told the world he was gay in March of this year. What promoted this announcement?
"I couldn't take it anymore. It was too painful," he told Oprah Winfrey this week, adding that his children, Valentino and Matteo, played a key role in the decision. "Before I decided to become a father, I already accepted who I was. I was happy with who I was. When I held my children, I said, OK, it was time to tell the world."

How did Martin feel after his famous blog post went live?

"I felt relieved. I felt free, I felt liberated, I could finally say I loved myself completely. For many years, I was trying to pretend I was somebody [else]."

In 2000, Barbara Walters conducted an interview with the singer and kept hammering away at his sexuality. This led to reporters asking constant questions of him throughout the decade.

"I have a lot of respect for Barbara. She's an amazing journalist, and she was doing her job. But she was beating me up," Martin said. "She knocked me out. She kept on going and going and going. I just wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. It wasn't my moment."

Martin says he feels more peaceful than ever before, and:

"My kids gave me all the strength to come out. They gave me that final push. If I didn't come out for them, what was I going to be teaching them, how to lie? I don't want my family to be based on lies. I want to be transparent to them. I want them to be proud of their dad. I want them to be proud of their family."