Shakira has no ill will toward her former partner Gerard Piqué.
“I will always have that gratitude in my heart for the father of my kids and [for] turning me into the mother that I am today,” Shakira, 49, told The Times of London in a profile published on Friday, May 22, when asked about Piqué, 39.
Shakira and the retired Spanish soccer star dated for over a decade, from 2010 to 2022. The now-exes welcomed sons Milan and Sasha in 2013 and 2015, respectively, before calling it quits.
“We regret to confirm that we are separating,” Shakira and Piqué said in a joint June 2022 statement, announcing their breakup. “For the wellbeing of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect their privacy.”
As Shakira navigated the breakup, she told The Times that faced her “darkest moment.”
“I saw the dissolution of my family, the family that I had dreamt to keep forever,” she recalled to the outlet. “I’ve been through so much pain, but it has made me perhaps in an unforeseen way a wiser person — or stronger, at least.”
Shakira continued, “They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and it is true. It’s amazing to learn that humans have a resilience that we can resort to at any moment in our lives. Sometimes through hardships and through pain is how we discover how strong we can be. Suffering sometimes makes you a better person, makes you value friends and support.”
Shakira, in particular, leaned on her friends in the wake of the split, including Chris Martin and Adele.
“Life sometimes can be a bitch, but it’s also beautiful and made of light and shadows,” the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer stated. “I thank life for every single moment, the bright ones and the dark ones, the people who have made me suffer because they have become my masters who have taught me lessons, very valuable lessons.”
Following her breakup from Piqué, Shakira has been romantically linked to Jimmy Butler and Lucien Laviscount before taking a break from dating altogether.
“Oh no, no romance for me for now,” she stressed to The Times. “There’s no space or time in my life for that. My plate is quite full. My kids are my priority, and my career. Strangely enough, I’m in love with my career like I’ve never been in my life. I’m enjoying my time alone as well.”
In terms of her career, Shakira is slated to perform at the 2026 World Cup later this summer.
“It’s going to be extraordinary,” Shakira, who wrote the tournament anthem “Dai Dai,” teased in her Friday profile. “I’m as passionate as ever.”
