Nearly two years after her split from soccer player Gerard Piqué — and a year since the disappearance of one infamous strawberry jam jar — Shakira is making clear just how much she sacrificed to be with the athlete who is “faithful” only to himself.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times published Saturday, Shakira took a trip down memory lane, parsing her now fizzled-out relationship with the Barcelona footballer. The 47-year-old met the soccer star on the set of her music video for “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” back in 2010, and the pair later had two children together: now 11-year-old Milan and 9-year-old Sasha. In order to make their relationship work, Shakira has said she uprooted her life to move to Spain, spending a decade in a new city to provide her children with “stability” as their dad made his Barcelona employer the center of their lives.
“For a long time I put my career on hold to be next to Gerard, so he could play football,” the Colombian singer told the Times. “There was a lot of sacrifice for love.”
Of course, the woman with exceedingly truthful hips has previously made her feelings toward her ex clear in several different formats, including roasting Piqué into oblivion via song (“Lots of time at the gym, but your brain needs a little work too”) and blasting those lyrics outside his mother’s house. Following their separation, Piqué has since shacked up with his rumored mistress, Clara Chia Martí, who worked for Piqué’s entertainment company and is more than 20 years Shakira’s junior. But don’t worry, Shakira has a biting retort for that development, too: “I’m worth two 22-year-olds/You traded in a Ferrari for a Twingo.”
Aside from those pesky tax evasion charges (in November, the singer struck a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to pay €7 million to avoid potential prison time), Shakira seems to be making jam out of her remaining strawberries once more. Last year, she was awarded MTV’s Video Vanguard Award, becoming the first South American artist to take home the title. And if this interview is any indication, perhaps the current Miami dweller seems intent on making a musical comeback post-breakup. It’s Shakira’s turn to be faithful only to herself.
