After being betrayed by her ex-husband and manager, it took a leap of faith for Shakira to find her happy ever after.
The entertainment industry isn't the best known for having long-standing relationships. But every so often, you have one couple who remain together for close despite it all. And one of out of those lucky couples is none other than the sensual, Latina pop musician, Shakira and her Spanish professional footballer partner, Gerard Piqué. Going strong for nine years, the two of them look like the love that brought them together hasn't faded one bit.
Shakira and Piqué first laid eyes on each other on the sets of Waka Waka, a song sung by the musician as the official anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In an interview with TV3, according to Pop Sugar, the FC Barcelona soccer player recalled how all it took was one simple question to open up the door to their relationship. He said, "She was already [in South Africa for the World Cup] because she sang in the opening ceremony, and I asked her what the weather was like."
"It's the typical stupid question, and the normal answer is to tell me to bring a jacket [June and July are winter in South Africa]," he continued. "But she started telling me what the weather was, like, every minute and it got to the point where I told her we [Spain] would have to get to the World Cup final to see her again—she was singing at the final." And there was no looking back for them after that. Starting off as friends in 2010, it took a while before they let love blossom.
But there was an issue of trust and lost faith...
It wasn't easy for the pop singer to suddenly just give herself to the footballer. At the time that they first met, she had still been with her husband (it is unclear whether they were officially married) and manager, Antonio de la Rua whom she then separated from after she found he had been cheating on her. It got worse when Rua tried to sue her for $250 million after she cut ties with him professionally as well. But after they fought their battles, Shakira did her best to move on. But she had lost her faith in love, trust, and in the divine... until Piqué.
She told the new U.S. edition of ELLE magazine, according to USA Today, "I think, if you can prove the existence of God, it can only be proven through love. I even had lost my faith for a while. I was becoming an agnostic. And it was really hard, because I was always very religious, and for a few years, maybe because -- it sounds so corny -- I was not feeling the love like it was supposed to be, I started to think that there was no God. And suddenly I meet Gerard and the sun comes out."
By 2011, the two had finally declared themselves as an official couple and eight years later, they're still just as in love with each other. And their love even had their own by-products in the form of their sons — Milan, 6 and Sasha, 4.
For the couple, having their two sons in their life is nothing short of amazing. And with both of them being from tight-knit families, according to E!Online, they definitely prioritize their kids. "Becoming a mom forced me to re-prioritize and make room for the things that are most important," Shakira told Parents in 2016, "while recognizing that there are things I can let go of and the world won't crumble around me."
And it wasn't easy for her. Speaking to US Weekly after the birth of Milan in 2013, she said, "I guess our mothers and grandmothers weren't under the pressure that women of today are after delivering a baby. "But it's different, I have a career, and that's the only part that's been a bit stressful because I knew that I'd have to come back here to do The Voice two months after I delivered a baby. I didn't have my four months maternity like every woman on earth has. So I'm not trying to complain, but it's been a process full of challenges in my life."
Sometimes, being international stars can make things a bit tough but the mother-of-two believes that being dedicated parents with separate careers is actually a great example for her kids. "Growing up with a working mom is a start," she said. "I also think their dad is a good example of a modern man to emulate. Gerard and I pretty much share all parenting responsibilities, although I'm definitely the disciplinarian."
And she is extremely grateful for Piqué, especially as a dad, as she gushed about him to US Weekly. "Thank God the father [Piqué] is very involved. He has been amazing. The baby spends as much time with me as he does with his dad. He's the kind of dad who's full hands-on. He changes diapers, he bathes him, he enjoys playing with the baby, he enjoys feeding him, all of that stuff. So that's great help for me, you know. I can't imagine doing all of this and not having the father do his part of the job. So that's a huge help to me."
When asked about how they're enjoying being a family, Shakira told Hello! Magazine in 2017, "There's a lot of love, that's the foundation of any family. You have to take care of it and dedicate time. Family is the most important thing for me. The rest is secondary."
And after nearly a decade together, when Shakira and Piqué are together, the passion still burns bright. When she played Me Enamoré for Piqué, Shakira recalled to ET Canada, beaming from ear to ear, "he looks at me with those eyes, like awww... really appreciating the fact that I, almost, paid an homage to that moment in our lives when we met each other—that turning point in our lives where everything changed."
Here's to many more years together!
References:
https://www.popsugar.com/latina/How-Did-Shakira-Gerard-Pique-Meet-43687939
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/06/12/shakira-talks-love-and-music-with-elle/2416121/
https://www.eonline.com/ap/news/1010961/whenever-wherever-the-secrets-of-shakira-and-gerard-pique-s-private-love-story
https://www.parents.com/parents-latina-magazine/star-mami-shakira/
https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/shakira-on-motherhood-nobody-told-me-it-would-be-this-hard-2013234/
https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2017081541584/shakira-cover-story-motherhood/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abf0VjaldSw
