Shakira and her footballer boyfriend Gerard Pique have announced they will be separating after 12 years together.
The singer, 45, and the Barcelona football player, 35, have been together since 2011 after meeting during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa while on the set of her music video for Waka Waka.
They share sons, Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7, though they never married.
Shakira and Pique have split after more than a decade together
Shakira’s communications agency made a brief statement, saying, “We regret to confirm that we are parting ways. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect their privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
Shakira hinted at a split in her new song Te Felicito
In her new song, Te Felicito with Rauw Alejandro, Shakira dropped hints about the state of her relationship with Pique. In the lyrics, she sang, “To complete you I broke into pieces; I was warned, but I didn’t listen; I realised that yours is false…”
She continued, “It was the drop that overflowed the glass; Don’t tell me you’re sorry, that sounds sincere, but I know you well and I know you’re lying.”
Rumors of Pique cheating have plagued the pair recently
She may be referring to rumors of Pique’s infidelity, reported by Barcelona news agency El Periodico. They claimed Shakira found her boyfriend in bed with another woman and subsequently kicked him out of their house.
The pair have already been living separately for the last few weeks, with Pique staying at his Bachelor pad in Calle Muntaner, Barcelona.
Pique has been partying and living the single life
According to El Periodico, Pique has been partying and enjoying a single lifestyle since the split, frequenting nightclubs with teammate Riqui Puig.
Pique has not been featured on Shakira’s Instagram for months, causing fans to speculate there was trouble in paradise. The last photo of the two together was a selfie taken on Valentine’s Day and posted to Shakira’s page.
As for why they have never married, Pique spoke to Gary Neville on a recent episode of The Overlap and said things were fine just as they are.
Pique didn’t see any need to get married to Shakira
He told the host, “I like it how we are right now. We have two kids, nine and seven, we work good as a couple. We don’t have the need to be married, it’s fine.”
Women everywhere who are still waiting for their man to propose were probably rolling their eyes. As the Beyonce song says, “If you like it, then you should have put a ring on it.”
Neither Shakira nor Gerard Pique have made any reference to the split on their respective Instagram pages, and we most likely won’t see one.
The last thing Shakira posted was a day ago, celebrating her song, Hips Don’t Lie hitting one billion views on Spotify.