After six years of marriage,Ricky MartinandJwan Yosefare divorcing.
“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 Puerto Rican superstar and the Syrian-Swedish artist tell PEOPLE in a joint statement.
“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,” continue the ex-couple, who share two kids: daughterLucia, born in 2018, and sonRenn, born in 2019. (Martin previously welcomed twin sonsMatteo and Valentino, born in 2008, whom he’ll continue to raise as a single parent.)
Jwan Yosef and Ricky Martin in May 2022.Lionel Hahn/Getty
Martin, 51, and Yosef, 38, first connected on Instagram in 2015 and began dating six months later, after meeting in person for the first time in London. They made their romance red-carpet official at the 2016 amFAR Inspiration Gala andannounced their engagementthe same year before getting married in 2018.
The “Livin' La Vida Loca” singer shared the news of their union during an interview withE! Newsin January 2018. “I’m a husband, but we’re doing a heavy party in a couple of months,” he told the outlet. “We exchanged vows, and we’ve swear [sic] everything, and we’ve signed all the papers that we needed to sign, prenups and everything.”
Mike Marsland/Getty
Both men, who each speak multiple languages, have spoken about their determination to pass down their linguistic flexibility to their four children.
“We speak Spanish at home, but they also speak English and French,” Martin shared during a 2013 appearance onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, noting that his twin sons were enrolled in a French school. “I want them to be exposed to everything.”
Ricky Martin, Jwan Yosef, Matteo Martin and Valentino Martin in 2016.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Yosef has said he’s teaching their two youngest kids Arabic as well. “The way I bring up my babies is that I focus on Arabic rather than English or Swedish,” he toldMy Kali. “I taught my kid how to count to 10 in Arabic and she’s only 2, which is wonderful.”
source: people.com
