Recording artist and hip-shaking queen Shakira and football star Gerard Piqué announced their split in June 2022 after 11 years together. The couple met on the set of her music video for “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” which was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They began dating in 2011, and have two children together: Milan, nine, and Sasha, seven. Shakira opened up about the split in an interview with the Mexican outlet Canal Estrellas, which was conducted in Spanish.
“I feel complete—because I feel like I can depend on myself and I have two kids who depend on me,” she said, according to People‘s translation. “I have to be stronger than a lion. That strength, in order for it to be real and not a facade…it needs to be the result of a great pain. Accepting that pain and tolerating the frustration because there are things in life that don’t turn out the way we want them to.”
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“One way or another, I’ve managed to learn it from another perspective and feel that I’ll be fine on my own,” she continued. “When a woman has to face [hardships] in life, she comes out stronger. When you come out stronger, it means you’re learning to recognise your weaknesses and accept your vulnerability.”
In June 2022 the former couple released a joint statement announcing the breakup. “We regret to confirm that we are separating,” it read. “We ask for privacy at this moment for the well-being of our children, who are our maximum priority. Thank you in advance for your understanding and respect.”
Piqué, 36, went Instagram-official with his new girlfriend, Clara Chia Marti, 23, in January.
This story was originally published on GLAMOUR US.