How Ricky Martin “liberated” Fire Country hunk Rafael De La Fuente to live his best gay life
Rafael De La Fuente is serving gay Latin excellence!
Mark
Fire Country actor Rafael De La Fuente is giving Ricky Martin big props for helping him step into his power as an out gay rising star in Hollywood.
The 38-year-old Venezuelan hunk got his got his start on telenovelas and on the Spanish-language Nickelodeon show Grachi, but his big break came in 2015 playing Jussie Smollett’s boyfriend Michael Sanchez on the blockbuster Fox series Empire.
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While De La Fuente came out in his private life when he was 21, he had kept his queerness muted while navigating his way through the American media landscape. After landing the gay role on Empire and seeing the overwhelming positive response, he began to reassess living more authentically in his career.
In a new interview, De La Fuente disclosed how he drew inspiration from the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer’s coming out to stop hiding his true self.
In March 2010, Martin publicly came out in a post on his website and followed it up with an emotional interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The impact of that moment stayed with De La Fuente for several years.
“For me something that liberated me in a way and gave me permission to feel free to be myself was when Ricky Martin came out and had that Oprah interview and I read his book and everything. That was so empowering to me,” De La Fuente said during a recent appearance on Latino Alternative TV’s The Q Agenda.
“I just went back to that, well this was such an important moment for me I should live my life that way.”
After that, De La Fuente never held himself back from discussing his life or his identity again.
“I started being more vocal about myself and my experience and things that I care about,” he added. “It’s been the best decision of my life because I’ve become the person that I needed when I was younger.”
Inner child healing is no joke!
No longer burdened with editing himself, De La Fuente has continued to thrive as he’s appeared in a slew of high-profile projects portraying both gay and straight roles.
He played Guy Pearce’s lover in the eight-part gay rights historical miniseries When We Rise, schemed up trouble on the 2017 reboot of Dynasty as Sammy Jo (a part portrayed by Heather Locklear in the original ’80s nighttime soap), got traumatized by Twisty the Clown on American Horror Story, and brought some much-needed flavor to the Hallmark Channel’s 2023 saccharine-sweet holiday roster in Letters to Santa.
Most recently, he starred as paramedic Diego Moreno on the CBS action drama Fire Country.
In his personal life, De La Fuente began dating influencer/singer John Duff in 2023.
Duff has released a slew of viral songs including “Stick Up”, “Hokie Pokie”, “I Hate LA”, and “High Heels.”
The handsome couple routinely shared photos being absolutely adorable together, however most of the pics have since been deleted.
While De La Fuente and Duff still follow each other, the status of their relationship is unclear.
Career-wise, De La Fuente is currently filming a new project tentatively titled Love on the Amazon alongside Grey’s Anatomy’s Jaicy Elliot.
It’s unclear when or where the project will air. Until then, check out more photos of De La Fuente living his best gay life below…
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Rafael de la Fuente has been sizzling up TV screens since appearing on ‘Empire’ in 2015.
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