Ricky Martin Says Dad Encouraged Him to Come Out, Team Told Him Not To

Ricky Martin says his dad was all for him living his truth out loud ... telling him he needed to come out publicly -- this while his professional team tried to talk him out of it.

The singer sat down for an interview on Sirius XM's "Andy Cohen Live" when he opened up about deciding to come out as gay -- and he says not everyone was in alignment on whether or not he should let the world know.

Martin told Andy his professional team told him it wasn't a good idea to reveal himself as an openly gay man ... in fact, he says they were quite certain it could kill his career.

But, Ricky goes on to explain his dad understood the importance of coming out and pushed him to tell the world after his two sons were born in 2008 ... with his pops saying RM couldn't start out by teaching his children it's better to lie than be yourself.

In any case, Martin says he took his time formulating a letter to tell the world he was gay and then tweeted it out ... and he said he felt instant relief -- sobbing tears of joy.

Of course, Ricky's since had some very public relationships with men ... including his high-profile marriage to Swedish artist Jwan Yosef from 2017 ... until their divorce last year.