After a week of radio silence from Jwan Yosef following an announcement that he and his husband Ricky Martin were getting a divorce after six years of marriage, Yosef reemerged on Instagram Thursday (July 13) with a pair of photos of himself. The caption on the photos read, “Tender Loving Care.”
It didn’t take long for Martin to respond to Yosef’s post. The “Canción Bonita” singer wrote “Hbb,” which is an abbreviation for the word “habibi.” In Arabic, “habibi” is a term of endearment that means “my love.” Yosef was born in Sweden but has Syrian roots.
Reactions to Martin’s response were mixed on Instagram. Many users thought the sentiment was a sweet one and took it as a sign that Martin still wants to work things out in their marriage, especially since there are children involved. “When there is a family with children so young and teenagers… we have to fight more,” one person posted.
Others took the opportunity to ask the couple to stay together. “Ricky, your husband is adorable. And you too. Stay together please.”
There were some users who weren’t too keen on Martin continuing to use the word “habibi” anymore to describe his ex. “He is not your ‘habibi’ anymore,” one wrote. Another said, “Stop writing to him.”
Finally, there were some people who hoped others responding to Martin and Yosef would just leave them alone and let them figure things out on their own. “Can you ppl stop talking about the break up, let him heal,” one person wrote.
Jwan Yosef and Ricky Martin released a joint statement earlier this month about their divorce. “We have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children and honoring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years,” they said.