Ricky Martin spent six months chatting to Jwan Yosef online before they met in person.
The 46-year-old singer-and-actor – who confirmed in January he and the artist had tied the knot – insists they weren’t sending "sexy" messages to one another but had got to know one another well before they met for the first time.
And as soon as they came face-to-face in 2016, the pair knew they would marry one day.
Ricky said: "I contacted him and we talked for six months. We were just sending messages, talking about life and existential issues. Nothing sexy, nothing sexual.
"It’s not that he was sending me sexy pictures and vice versa, I swear…but when I first saw him I said, ‘I am marrying this guy’.
"And apparently he said exactly the same thing. Obviously he only told me this later on, you have to keep it to yourself at first!
" But I lost my breath when I saw him. Six months’ build-up and it was very romantic."
The ‘American Crime Story’ actor – who is father to nine-year-old twins Matteo and Valentino – threw himself into his career to avoid facing up to his sexuality for years but admitted it took a lot of "energy" trying to "manipulate" the truth.
He told the new issue of Attitude magazine: "I submitted myself to my career completely. I didn’t open doors to new relationships, and I’m not talking about romantic relationships, I’m talking about any relationship, because I didn’t want people to know me too much.
"I wouldn’t even sit down and have a cool relationship with amazing producers or great film directors because I was afraid that if they spent more than two hours sitting with me they would know my nature. I wasted so much energy trying to manipulate my sexuality."