Shakira is finally speaking out on her relationship with her ex, Gerard Pique.
The 45-year-old entertainer and 35-year-old soccer star were together for 11 years. Their separation was made public in June of 2022. Shortly thereafter, Gerard was spotted with another woman.
Shakira and Gerard share two sons, Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7.
Now, Shakira is breaking her silence on the split and all the rumors on their separation.
In an interview for Elle, Shakira was asked how she has been doing since the split. She said:
“Oh, this is really hard to talk about personally, especially as this is the first time I’ve ever addressed this situation in an interview. I’ve remained quiet and just tried to process it all. Um, and yeah, it’s hard to talk about it, especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye and because our separation is not like a regular separation.
And so it’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult.”
She spoke about how hard it’s been for her and her sons:
“I have paparazzi camping outside, in front of my house, 24/7. And there’s not a place where I can hide from them with my kids, except for my own house. You know, we can’t take a walk in the park like a regular family or go have an ice cream or do any activity without paparazzi following us. So it’s hard. And I’ve tried to conceal the situation in front of my kids. I try to do it and to protect them, because that’s my number one mission in life.
But then they hear things in school from their friends or they come across some disagreeable, unpleasant news online, and it just affects them, you know?”
Shakira was then asked how she came “to understand that you weren’t going to be together anymore” and that it sounded that “you did not want your relationship to end.” Shakira had this to say:
“I think that those details are somehow too private to share, at least at this very moment—everything is so raw and new. I can only say that I put everything I had into this relationship and my family. Before my kids started school, I had a really nomadic life—I had lived my entire existence as an artist, traveling non-stop, going to different places around the world, touring, doing shows, promotion, building schools in Colombia, and recording in different countries around the world. Even for the first few years of my relationship with Gerard and when I had my first son, Milan. I took him with me everywhere from the time he was 2 months old. I even remember breastfeeding him constantly on the set of The Voice.”
Once Milan started school, at the end of 2014, I knew that my constant travel and nomadic existence had to be put on the back burner and my career had to be put in second gear. I knew that when he started school I had to settle down, plant roots in Barcelona, and be there for him and for Gerard and then later on for Sasha as well. As a soccer player, he wanted to play football and to win titles and I had to support him. I mean, one of the two of us had to make a sacrifice, right? Either he would stop his contract with Barcelona and move to the U.S. with me, where my career is, or I would have to do that instead.”
She stated that she made sacrifices for him out of love:
“And so, one of the two had to make that effort and that sacrifice. And I did it. I put my career in second gear and I came to Spain, to support him so he could play football and win titles. And it was a sacrifice of love.
Thanks to that, my kids were able to have a present mom, and I have this amazing bond with them that is unbreakable and that sustains us. You know, that is it. That’s all I can say.”
And about the reports that they are in a custody battle, she said:
“Honestly, the depiction in the local press here in Spain has been so hard to watch. And invasive for my kids. They don’t deserve to feel observed or watched every second, photographed at school drop-off, or followed by paparazzi. They deserve a normal life. It’s just a total circus, and everyone is speculating about all of these aspects of our, and more importantly our children’s, lives, and a lot of it isn’t even true.”
Shakira said about her current relationship with Gerard:
“Regardless of how things ended or how Gerard and I feel about each other as ex-partners, he is the father of my children. We have a job to do for these two incredible boys, and I have faith that we will figure out what is best for their future, their own dreams in life, and what is a fair solution for everyone involved. And I hope and would appreciate if we were given the space to do that privately.”
