Ricky Martin Overhears WGN Reporter's Fan Freakout

CHICAGO, IL — A WGN reporter had a fangirl meltdown after interviewing Ricky Martin on live TV — only to discover the singer heard every word of it. "Around Town" reporter Ana Belaval wasn't in the WGN studio for the satellite interview with the singer, but as a longtime fan, she begged entertainment reporter Dean Richards to let her be part of the broadcast.

Afterwards, Belaval, who was raised in Puerto Rico, began gushing to her coworkers about Martin after asking him about his efforts to help with Hurricane Maria relief.

"You have to understand, when you're part of a minority, and you don't have a lot of role models in media, and you have a Ricky Martin that wherever you go in the world, it's a good name to mention as a Puerto Rican, oh my goodness, you feel related to him."

Belaval continued her fangirl moment, exclaiming, "He called me mama, baby!" Martin, who was still listening, chimed in, "That's beautiful."

As the realization dawned on her, Belaval said to her coworkers, "He's still here? I'm going to kill you!"

Martin took it in stride, "I want to see her," he said of Belaval. "I want to hug her."

Belaval joked about the incident on Facebook, sharing a clip of the interview and writing, "This is when I still had my dignity in front of Ricky Martin."

She went on to add, "Next dream, to meet him and travel with him and Habitat for Humanity to #puertorico to build some homes. And yes, I am very proud of gushing over one of our best!"

Watch Belaval's interaction with Martin on WGN:

Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP