Man Claiming to Be Orlando Shooter's Former Gay Lover Reveals Possible Motivation Behind Attack

A man claiming to be the ex-lover of the Orlando attacker Omar Mateen came forward Tuesday in an exclusive interview with Univision, saying he engaged in a sexual relationship the shooter.

"I’ve cried like you have no idea," the man, identified only as "Miguel," told Univision News. "But the thing that makes me want to tell the truth is that he didn’t do it for terrorism."

Instead, the heavily disguised man believes Mateen "did it for revenge."

Image source: Univision screen grab

Miguel claimed to have met Mateen via Grindr, a popular gay dating app. He told Univision host Maria Elena Salinas that he met the radicalized Muslim between 15 and 20 times during the span of their relationship, which ended in December of last year, when Miguel moved away from Orlando.

Mateen's alleged lover said the two engaged in a "friends with benefits"-style relationship, adding that the Orlando shooter, who killed 49 people in his violent raid, was "100 percent" gay. When news of the shooting first broke, Miguel said he was surprised because he always felt his supposed ex-lover was "affectionate" and "sweet."

Mateen even enjoyed being cuddled, the man said.

Miguel also suggested Mateen's rage against gay Puerto Rican men might have been rooted in the fact that the terrorist had sex with two Puerto Rican men, one of whom was later revealed to be HIV positive.

"He adored Latinos, gay Latinos, with brown skin — but he felt rejected," the man said. "He felt used by them — there were moments in the Pulse nightclub that made him feel really bad. Guys used him. That really affected him."

Mateen, according to Miguel, was "terrified" he, too, was HIV positive.

"When I asked him what he was going to do now, his answer was, ‘I’m going to make them pay for what they did to me,'" Miguel recalled.

The FBI confirmed to Univision that they have interviewed the alleged lover.

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