Shakira has opened up about the emotional turmoil she endured following her highly publicized split from former FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqué, revealing that music became her refuge during one of the most challenging periods of her life. In a candid interview for GQ Spain, accompanied by a striking and bold photo shoot, the Colombian singer delved into how the end of her 12-year relationship with Piqué influenced the creation of her latest album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (“Women No Longer Cry”).
For Shakira, the creative process behind the album was deeply intertwined with her personal healing. She explained that she struggled to truly process the pain of her breakup until she began to put her emotions into her music. “It wasn’t easy to recognize all the vulnerability I was feeling at the time I wrote this album,” Shakira confessed. “For many months after my separation, I had been silent, trying to begin my mourning, but I couldn’t really begin to grieve until I started writing music. It was my way of healing. And it continues to be.”
The singer, who shares two sons, Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9, with Piqué, went on to describe grief as an unpredictable journey. “It is full of peaks and valleys,” she said, acknowledging the complexity of her emotions. Shakira’s candidness about her personal struggles offers fans a glimpse into how she processed her feelings during the most vulnerable period of her life.
Shakira and Piqué announced their separation in June 2022, a revelation that quickly sparked rumors of infidelity, leading to a media frenzy. Among the more unusual claims was a January 2023 report suggesting that Shakira discovered Piqué’s alleged affair after noticing that a jar of jam—something her ex was known not to eat—had been mysteriously consumed. Although Shakira denied this bizarre report, the media speculation around the couple’s breakup remained relentless.
During the interview, Shakira reflected on the emotions behind her song “Monotonía,” a collaboration with Ozuna. The music video for the track visually represents her feelings of heartbreak, with one particularly poignant scene showing Shakira crying in a supermarket, searching for her heart on the floor. “In this video, I walk around with a hole in my chest because that’s how I felt,” she explained. “It was my physical sensation.”
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One of the pivotal moments in Shakira’s healing process came while working on “Session 53” with Argentine producer Bizarrap. She recalled how collaborating on the track felt like an emotional release, allowing her to confront and release the pain she had been harboring. “That’s when I started to feel light,” Shakira shared. “I was like, ‘Biza, I feel like I’m floating right now. I feel like I got a demon out.’”
Shakira also opened up about how her perception of love has evolved in the wake of her split from Piqué. The disappointment of the breakup, she admitted, had changed her ability to trust in romantic relationships. “The love of a partner disappointed me. It affected my idiosyncrasy,” she said. “It’s inevitable, at least for the moment, that I have lost trust in the other. The healing process is long.”
Shakira’s track “Última,” which is included in her new album, explores the themes of solitude and independence. However, in true Shakira fashion, she lightheartedly admitted that her personal growth is still a work in progress. “It’s a lie that with ‘Última’ I was going to get rid of everything,” she joked. “There’s always more to dig up. It will take me several albums!”
Shakira’s emotional revelations came shortly after Piqué spoke out about their split in an interview with CNN en Español. In the interview, the former soccer star hinted that “the truth” about their breakup has not fully come to light. “In the end, the truth or what happens or occurs is not told in the way it was,” Piqué stated. “The best thing is that in the end I am surrounded by my loved ones, my family, my friends, the people who really know you.”
Since the separation, Piqué has moved on and publicly confirmed his relationship with Clara Chia Marti in January 2023.
As for Shakira, she is focused on the future, both musically and personally. The singer is preparing for her highly anticipated 2025 tour, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which follows the success of her electrifying 2020 Super Bowl halftime performance.
Shakira revealed that this upcoming tour will be the most ambitious endeavor of her career to date. “It is the most ambitious tour of my entire career, the biggest production I have had so far,” she shared. “I deserve the tour of my life. I’m throwing the house out the window.”
With her new album and the upcoming tour, Shakira is not only reclaiming her personal narrative but also cementing her place as one of the most influential figures in music.
Despite the emotional rollercoaster of her public split and the scrutiny that came with it, Shakira continues to rise above it all, using her art to express her resilience and growth. She is emerging stronger, more determined, and ready to take on the world—one song at a time.
