Shakira Thought She'd Spend Her Entire Life With Gerard Piqué

After making history at the 2023 MTV VMAs, Shakira is opening up about her relationship — and her plans for world domination — in a new story for Billboard. The Colombian superstar revealed that although she and her ex-boyfriend, soccer star Gerard Piqué, never actually tied the knot, she believed that they'd be together forever. The two were together for 11 years and announced their separation in June 2022. They share two sons: Milan, 10, and Sasha, 8. 

"My priority was my home, my family. I believed in 'till death do us part. I believed that dream, and I had that dream for myself, for my children," she said. "My parents have been together, I don’t know, 50 years, and they love each other like the first day, with a love that’s unique and unrepeatable. So, I know it’s possible." 

With her parents as an example, she believed that she and Piqué were in store for a similar trajectory, but it wasn't meant to be.

"It’s what I wanted for myself and my children, but it didn’t happen," she said.

She added that she felt as though she had to put her career on hold to be with him in Barcelona, where he played. Living in Spain, she explained, kept her from collaborating with the artists she wanted to because the logistics and geography made it difficult.

"Well, the thing is, I was dedicated to him. To the family, to him," she of her time with Piqué. "It was very difficult for me to attend to my professional career while in Barcelona. It was complicated logistically to get a collaborator there. I had to wait for agendas to coincide or for someone to deign to come. I couldn’t leave my children and just go somewhere to make music outside my house. It was hard to maintain the rhythm."

Shakira and Pique met in March 2011 while filming the music video for "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

She also touched on an upcoming tour, telling Billboard that it would be something none of her fans have ever seen.

"That’s why I think [my next tour] will be the tour of a lifetime because I have so many songs," she said. While details are still slim on the outing, Shakira's team told the publication that the tour "will include arena and stadium shows in nearly two dozen countries across Latin America, North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East."