Shakira has broken her silence on her split from Gerard Piqué.
The Colombian singer and the Spanish footballer announced their shock split in June, after 11 years together.
In a joint statement, the couple wrote: “We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we request respect for (our) privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
Just two months later, Gerard went public with his new girlfriend – 23-year-old PR student Clara Chia Marti.
In a new interview with Elle, Shakira addressed her split from Gerard for the first time, admitting it’s been “incredibly difficult” for her and her children.
She said: “I’ve remained quiet and just tried to process it all. Um, and yeah, it’s hard to talk about it, especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye and because our separation is not like a regular separation.”
“And so it’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult.”
“I have paparazzi camping outside, in front of my house, 24/7,” the Hips Don’t Lie singer continued. “And there’s not a place where I can hide from them with my kids, except for my own house.”
“You know, we can’t take a walk in the park like a regular family or go have an ice cream or do any activity without paparazzi following us. So it’s hard.”
Speaking about her and Gerard’s young children, Shakira said: “I try to do it and to protect them, because that’s my number one mission in life. But then they hear things in school from their friends or they come across some disagreeable, unpleasant news online, and it just affects them, you know?”
“Sometimes I just feel like this is all a bad dream and that I’m going to wake up at some point,” she added.
“It’s real,” Shakira said of the breakup. “And what’s also real is the disappointment to see something as sacred and as special as I thought was the relationship I had with my kids’ father and see that turned into something vulgarized and cheapened by the media.”
“And all of this while my dad has been in the ICU and I’ve been fighting on different fronts. Like I said, this is probably the darkest hour of my life.”
Shakira, 45, started dating the Barcelona footballer, 35, back in 2011, after they met while filming the music video for her World Cup song Waka Waka in 2010.
The former couple share two children together – nine-year-old Milan and seven-year-old Sasha.
