Nexar Antonio Flores

Flores and Haavisto met in 1997 at a nightclub in Bogotá, during a vacation trip made by Haavisto, who was then the Finnish Minister of the Environment.^[3] Shortly afterwards, Flores returned to Ecuador, where he improved ties with his family.^[3] In December 1997, Haavisto visited Flores in Ecuador and spent the holidays with him and his family.^[3]

In May 1998, Flores travelled to Finland and decided to remain there to live with Haavisto.^[2] In Europe, he learned Finnish (previously communicating with Haavisto in English),^[2] and acquired certifications as a flight attendant from Ryanair UK in London, and one in graphic design from Omnia Media in Helsinki.^[2][3] Additionally, Flores worked as a stylist and makeup artist in a series production for Paramount+ in Germany and others for Netflix.^[2][1]

The couple registered their union in 2002, later living in Switzerland and Belgium while Haavisto held positions representing the Finnish government.^[2] They returned to Finland in 2011 when Haavisto sought the presidency in the 2012 presidential election.^[2][4] Haavisto was the first openly gay politician to run for president in Finland.^[5] He ran again for that position in 2018 and in the 2024 election, coming in second place in all three occasions.^[5][6][7]

In an interview with an Ecuadorian newspaper, Flores said in January 2024, that being a gay man may have been an issue in the 2012 election, but he added that Finnish society developed a more open mind in the years that followed.^[3] Conversely, a study by the University of Helsinki found in the lead-up to the 2024 election that a third of voters in Finland would not vote for a gay politician.^[5][8]

Flores has stated that he suffered from homophobia in Ecuador, where he said that people thought that being gay meant that "(you) want to be a woman."^[3] He also stated that in Ecuadorian society people used to think that being gay made it impossible to be a soldier, a doctor, a businessman or a politician.^[3] Flores compared homophobia in his native Ecuador with Finland, saying that a gay man is at risk of being assaulted in Ecuador while same-sex couples walk hand in hand in Finland.^[2]

He has appeared in reality shows like the Finnish version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, whose filming took place in Argentina,^[9] and reached the second place in Tanssii tähtien kanssa.^[2][3] In 2023, Flores was a contestant in Farmi Suomi, the Finnish version of The Farm.^[9] He has also taken part in UNICEF missions to Mauritania and other countries in North Africa.^[2]

In February 2024, Flores spoke about the Ecuadorian security crisis, expressing concern at the growing violence. He also said that while President Daniel Noboa had a vision for the country, he (Flores) thought that Noboa would not last long in power, adding that changes in Ecuador could take generations.^[2]

Flores speaks several languages and owns a beauty salon in Helsinki.^[3][2][1]