Shakira and Gerard Piqué announced separation in June. Image Source: USA Today
Shakira opens up about a difficult time in her life and how she is navigating through all of it.
Shakira, who announced her split from ex- Gerard Piqué in June, described the phase as the darkest hour in her life during an interview with Elle magazine for the cover story. The former couple shares two sons, Milan and Sasha, and were together for over twelve years and are currently trying to co-parent the kids in the best possible way.
Shakira said during the interview that breaking up with someone in public is incredibly painful and difficult, but she has tried to conceal the situation in front of the kids, and she tries to do it to protect them because that is her number one priority. The Colombian singer further said that their sons do hear things in school, from their friends, or they might come across news that is unpleasant or disagreeable online, and it sorts of affects them.
The singer said that it is extremely difficult to discuss it personally, especially since this will be the first time she has even brought it up. She continued by saying that she has chosen to remain silent as she attempts to digest everything. She reiterates that it is difficult to talk about it since she is still dealing with it, she is in the public glare, and their separation is not like a typical split. Therefore, it has been difficult on her as well as the children incredibly challenging but they are doing the best.
Shakira said that the relationship with Gerard Piqué, which was once sacred, has been turned into something vulgarised and portrayed as something cheap with the help of all the headlines and news that started to stir around the time they announced their split, and she described it as the darkest hour of her life. During the interview, Shakira did not dwell or comment on Gerard Piqué’s romance with new girlfriend Clara Chia or the accusations that he might have cheated on her, but she mentioned that she is assured that they want to raise the kids as healthy co-parents and that is their focus. It was although reported that she was pretty upset when the pictures of the two were published.
The singer said that regardless of how things ended between her and Gerard Piqué and how they feel about each other, he is the father of her children and they have a job to do for the incredible boys and added that she has faith that the two of them will find a way to make it work for the best of their future, their dreams in life and what is a fair solution for everyone involved. Shakira said that she would very much like it if the former couple and their family were given time and space to deal with things privately.
Shakira stated that one of the two had to make the change to make the relationship work so she put her career on hold and traveled to Spain to support Gerard Piqué and be there for him so that he could play football and win titles, calling it a "love sacrifice." Shakira said thanks to her decision because the kids were able to have a present mom, and now she says that they have an amazing bond that is unbreakable and that has sustained them. She claimed that while everything currently seemed difficult to her, she later considered all the other ladies suffering hardships, going through situations that were either worse than mine or just as terrible as mine.
Shakira may have put her career on hold to pursue love, but she is now resuming her career and channeling her pain into new music as she prepares to release her first album in five years. The singer described the process of writing music during this time as therapeutic and added that, in her case, writing music is like going to therapy, only cheaper, and stated that it just helps her process her emotions and make sense of them. Shakira claims that writing music and music, in general, has helped her to heal and it has been the best medicine for her, along with the love of her family and kids, that has helped her to sustain herself.
Other than a public breakup from her partner of twelve years, Shakira also had difficulty when William Mebarak Chadid, who had traveled to Barcelona to support his family during the breakup, fell and developed a subdural hematoma. The singer described a trying time for her family as her father underwent brain surgery and then fell again, breaking bones in his face, a week later. She has, however, been supported through it all by the love of her followers and prominent friends.
Shakira has stated that she will I.am has regularly checked on her, and she mentioned that the musician had sent her a beautiful prayer, praying for her kids and for her to find peace. Shakira also mentioned that Chris Martin is always checking on her, telling her that he is there for her if she needs anything, along with Alejandro Sanz and Juan Luis Guerra.
She came to the conclusion that one of the most painful experiences a person can ever go through is for women like herself who believe in values like family and who had the huge ideal of having a family for all time to have that dream destroyed or shredded into bits. However, she went on to say that she believed women to be resilient, explaining that this trait is just innate in all women and that their purpose in life is to care for and nurture those who depend on them.
