Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef divorcing after six years of marriage

Pop superstar Ricky Martin and artist Jwan Yosef are calling it quits after six years of marriage and two children together.

After six years of marriage, pop superstar Ricky Martin and his husband, artist Jwan Yosef, divorcing.

“We have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children and honouring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years,” Martin and Yosef said in a joint statement.

Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef are calling it quits after six years of marriage. Picture: Getty Images

“Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centred on peace and friendship to continue the joint upbringing of our children, preserving the respect and love we have for each other.”

The couple are parents to two children, four-year-old daughter Lucia, and three-year-old son, son, Renn. (Martin is also dad to 15-year-old twin sons, Matteo and Valentino, whom he’ll continue to raise as a single parent.)

Ricky Martin with his eldest children, Valentino and Matteo. Picture: Supplied

Martin and Yosef, a Swedish-Syrian artist, first met via Instagram in 2015, and began a relationship six months later after meeting in-person at a London event.

The made their romance public in 2016 at an AIDS charity gala and announced their engagement the same year before getting married in 2017.

Martin told E! News in early 2018 that the pair had married. “I’m a husband, but we’re doing a heavy party in a couple of months,” he told the outlet.

The couple met on Instagram in 2015 and married in 2017. Picture: AFP

“We exchanged vows, and we’ve [sworn] everything, and we’ve signed all the papers that we needed to sign, prenups and everything.”

Martin has often spoken about his desire to build a large family, due to his grandmother having 14 children.

“I would love to have many grandkids in the future and have every Sunday filled with family but, you know, we have to see what happens,” he told the outlet.

“There’s moments where I want 10 more, and then there are those mornings where everybody’s crying, and I’m like, ‘OK, maybe we’re fine at six.’

The pop superstar on stage in 2020. Picture: AFP

“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.”

Martin also explained why he chose surrogacy over adoption. “Obviously adoption is an option and it’s very beautiful, but unfortunately for gay men, it’s very difficult to adopt in some countries.”

Martin endured a difficult 2022 after he was accused of sexual abuse by his nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sanchez.

Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef have a son and daughter together. Picture: Getty Images

Sanchez later withdrew his claims. When the case was dismissed Yosef posted a photo of he and Martin to Instagram with the statement: “Truth prevails”.

Martin later sued his nephew for A$30 million, saying he was “being persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted by a maladjusted person” who is seeking to “obtain an economic benefit” or “assassinate [Martin’s] reputation and integrity.”

Professionally, Martin goes from strength to strength. He is set to star in the main cast of Apple TV+’s upcoming period comedy Palm Royale alongside Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney and Carol Burnett.

The Latin superstar has two Grammys and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2018 for his standout performance in the limited series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace.