In a new interview, the 'Livin' La Vida Loca' hitmaker admits that he initially was desperate to hide his mental health issues from husband Jwan Yosef, his four children, and his mother.
- June 2, 2020
AceShowbiz - Pop star Ricky Martin turned to music as a form of therapy after developing severe anxiety during the coronavirus lockdown.
The "Livin' La Vida Loca" hitmaker was caught off guard by the emotional attack as he realised how serious the pandemic was - and desperately tried to hide his fears from his husband Jwan Yosef, his four children, and his mother, who had come to stay with the singer in Los Angeles.
"I had never suffered from anxiety, and I left home when I was 12 (to join boyband Menudo)," Ricky told The Associated Press. "I have seen things, I have lived, but this is a new level, this is a new monster and to top it all, it is invisible."
"I spent two weeks with a poker face so my family wouldn't be affected," he confessed, "but finally I was able to raise my head and say, 'Eh, something very good has to come out of this, get creative.' And I started making music and it was my medicine, honestly, because I really felt like I was gasping for air."
Ricky returned to the recording studio and made "Pausa", his new EP, which was released on Thursday, May 28, and after overcoming his own personal battle, he pledged to set up a series of "mental health and education" programmes to help others dealing with similar troubles.
"I think now more than ever is when the victims need our help, because the aftershocks of this pandemic are really intense," he recently told Entertainment Tonight. "So we're gonna provide (them) with mental health and education and nothing but love because they deserve it."
Ricky also recently worked with officials at his self-named foundation to send personal protective equipment to healthcare workers on the front lines across the U.S., and in his native Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
