Shakira has been very open and honest about the demise of her relationship with former professional footballer Gerard Piqué, and the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer is continuing her showcase of vulnerability.
In a new interview with People en Espanol published Monday (June 26), Shakira shared the extenuating circumstances that made the split even more devastating for her. “Everything was happening all at once, my home was falling apart,” she said. “I was finding out in the press that I had been betrayed while my father was in the ICU. I thought I wouldn’t survive so much.”
The former pair announced their split in June 2022 through a joint statement. “We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy,” the statement read. Shakira and Piqué were together for 11 years and have two children together: Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7.
Over the past year, many rumors around the end of the pair’s relationship have made the rounds — from cheating allegations to a jar of strawberry jam. For Shakira — who in April was named Billboard‘s Woman of the Year at the first Latin Women in Music — her father’s condition intensified the pain of the split. “The man that has loved me the most, my father, wasn’t by my side when I most needed him,” she told People en Espanol. “I couldn’t speak to him or receive the advice from my best friend that I so needed.”
Despite the drama of the breakup, Shakira has been pushing forward with a steady stream of new music releases. This year, she has already scored two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: the Bizarrap-produced “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” (No. 9), in which she takes aim at her former partner; and the Karol G duet “TQG” (No. 7).
The Colombian music icon is looking to her father as “the biggest example of resilience.” Speaking of her parents’ relationship, the “Waka Waka” singer mused to the publication, “They have both been a reflection of that dream that didn’t come true for me. But I hope they are role models for my kids of love, of patience in relationships, of absolute devotion and zest for life.”
