Together, they formed one of the most famous couples in the world. But this weekend, after more than 12 years of relationship and two children together, Colombian singer Shakira and Spanish football player Gerard Piqué announced their separation.
They confirmed their divorce in a statement in which they asked for “respect for our privacy” for the “well-being” of their children, following rumors of a possible breakup between the 45-year-old “Hips Don’t Lie” singer and the 35-year-old FC Barcelona defender.
Check out the story of this famous couple:
South Africa World Cup
Shakira and Piqué met in 2010, months before the World Cup in South Africa, when she sang “Waka Waka”, the official song of the Cup that year, and he was one of the stars of the Spanish national team.
Although Piqué appeared in the music video for the song, it was not during the recordings that they were seen for the first time, as, as the singer herself said in an interview with El Hormiguero, she filmed from Los Angeles and he from Spain.
It was in Madrid that they met for the first time. Shakira was in the Spanish capital to perform at the Rock in Rio festival. “I would sing at Rock in Rio and then I would go to South Africa and he would also go to South Africa. And well, it was the first time we met,” said the singer.
Piqué told Catalan newspaper L’Esportiu in 2020 that he met Shakira in Madrid, before heading to South Africa: “On the first day I told her that we would meet in the final; I was always brave. She would sing the song at the finals ceremony and I took it for granted that we would play that game. And we got to the World Cup and we started losing the first game. But well, in the end we won.”
Several months later, in March 2011, the Colombian singer made their relationship official through her Twitter account, in which she published for the first time a photo in which she posed next to her boyfriend Piqué. “I present to you my sun,” the tweet read.
Four years later, in the midst of preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Shakira released the song “Dare (La, La, La)”, another worldwide hit in which the football player appears.
In the song “23”, from 2017, Shakira sings: “Some years ago I was alone, I thought there was no God, but then you looked at me with your blue eyes”. Blue-eyed Piqué was 23 years old when he met Shakira.
Perhaps the most famous mention of Piqué in Shakira’s songs is in “La Bicicleta”, a Latin American hit in which the singer collaborates with Carlos Vives. The Colombian woman says: “Listen, Carlos, take me on your bike. If you show Piqué Tayrona, he won’t want to go to Barcelona.”
A year after the official start of dating, the couple celebrated the arrival of their first child. Milan, who is currently 9 years old. He was born in Barcelona in January 2013, according to a statement posted on the Colombian singer’s website.
Milan was born on January 22 of that year in a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. The name chosen by her famous parents means dear, graceful and loving in Slavic.
The Colombian, who along with Piqué was an ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), took advantage of the curiosity of many to get to know the newborn to publicize her campaign to help needy children.
Shakira confirmed her second pregnancy a year and a half later, in August 2014, to the Mexican edition of Cosmopolitan magazine. On January 29, 2015, Sasha, her second child, was also born in Barcelona.
In 2017, the couple had silenced the rumors of their separation: in September of that year, the player published a photo of his companion and their two children on Instagram with the message “Sunday. Family time”.
In March 2022, after FC Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish football derby, Shakira published a racy post on her social media. Until then, everything seemed to be going well for the couple.
But after a few days of intense rumors in the entertainment press about an alleged infidelity on the part of the FC Barcelona player, Shakira and Piqué finally announced their separation after 12 years of relationship.
“We regret to confirm that we have parted ways. For the well-being of our children, who are our top priority, we ask that you respect (our) privacy. Thank you for your understanding,” reads the joint statement.
Source: CNN Brasil
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