Ricky Martin says he will tell twin sons he is their mother

The singer, who recently came out as a gay man, says he wants two-year-old sons Matteo and Valentino to be 'proud' of being part of a 'modern family'.

And asked what he will tell them when they ask who is their mother, he flashed a giant smile then said: 'I'll say, 'Hi, nice to meet you!''

He said: 'Every family is different. I will tell them that you are here because I wanted you so bad in my life. And with the help of God everything aligned for you to be a part of my life.

'There are families that consist of a mum and a dad, others consist of two mums, or two dads. You are a part of a modern family and you have to be very proud of that.'

Martin, interviewed on the Today Show in the US, says it was these emotions that pushed him into admitting to the world that he was gay, and also writing his book about his life.

'I wrote this book because of my children. When I was holding my children for the first time I was thinking, 'I need to be honest, I need to be myself'. Otherwise it would be like teaching them to lie,' he said.

'I just want my kids to be happy and to live a very transparent life. I just want them to be as free as possible.'