Ricky Martin announced on his blog today that he is indeed gay.

"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," the 40-year-old singer wrote on his web site Monday. "I am very blessed to be who I am."

Rumors about the Latin heartthrob's sexual orientation has been the subject of hearsay ever since he became a breakout sensation with his 1999 smash hit "Livin' the Vida Loca."

This is a commendable step for the Puerto Rican star, who over a decade ago told Rolling Stone that the gay rumors were "fantasy" but still remained aloof by saying, "You can think whatever you want. I know what I am, my beliefs, what I like and don't like."

Although this does not come as a surprise to many people, Martin admitted he was afraid of losing his fan base.

"Many people told me: 'Ricky it's not important', 'it's not worth it', 'all the years you've worked and everything you've built will collapse,'" he blogged. "I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions."

According to CBS News, The statement in his blog, which was written in Spanish and translated into English, says that his choice to come out was sparked by a decision to write his memoirs.

"To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where [sic] born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment," he wrote. 

"These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed," he continued. "What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word 'happiness' takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution." 

In August 2008, Martin became the father of twin boys, Matteo and Valentino. The babies were delivered via gestational surrogacy.

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