It’s been three years since Ecuadorian model and telenovela star Roberto Manrique came out as gay at the age of 42.
At the time, Manrique said his friends and family had known about his sexuality and so he hadn’t felt an urgency to come out of the closet.
“I want to tell you something very important, very intimate, very personal, about which I have never spoken and now I have felt the urge to speak, and that is my sexuality,” he said, before revealing he was gay in a social media video back in August 2021.
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Recently, Manrique, now 45, shared a video reflecting on coming out publicly and disclosed how that moment was a bigger deal than he had realized as it helped him fully step into his most authentic self.
The clip begins with a flashback to his initial coming out video and quickly cuts to him today discussing how being completely open about his identity with his more 3 million followers actually opened him up to so much more than he could have ever imagined.
“But that day I felt like it was the step I definitely had to take to love myself more. Period. So I said it,” he recounted. “I had no idea of what would happen. I had no idea I would live now with a new aura of authenticity and freedom. I didn’t know I had so much ground to gain. Now I love myself more. I am more myself. Now I can love more.”
Manrique ended by encouraging others to not be fearful of living authentically.
“So if you are afraid to take a step to be more yourself, whatever that may be, do it. Being someone you are not is unlivable. And you know that,” he said.
“Instead the path of authenticity is the path that attracts all the blessings and beyond.”
Part of Manrique’s coming out journey involved sharing his longterm relationship with partner Oliver Ranft.
In a 2021 People En Español story, Manrique and Ranft appeared on a digital cover together with their adorable pup.
However, last year the pair split after 8 years together.
“We feel deeply grateful for everything we experienced and grew up with”, the couple said in a joint statement. “We are clear that, together with Mila [our dog], we will always be family.”
And that is exactly how they’ve remained, as the duo often share images hanging together with their four-legged buddy.
On top of his acting gigs, Manrique has grown a steady following using his platform to uplift and spread advocacy for the environment.
This culminated with Juntos X La Tierra, a project that saw Manrique embark on a 28-day trip alone without money through Ecuador, Peru and Chile, exchanging lodging, food and transport for the promise of planting trees.
The organization has since planted 261,303 trees around the world.
Manrique continues to share his empowering videos – along with his intense workout routines and modeling work – on Instagram and it is definitely a sight to see. Enjoy respectfully gazing at Manrique’s important endeavors below:
