Shakira says she has to be “stronger than a lioness” for her kids after her split from Gerard Piqué.
Shakira says she has to be ‘stronger than a lioness’ for her kids after her split from Gerard Piqué
The Columbian singer, 46, and former footballer Gerard, 35, ended their relationship in May after 11 years together after they had children Milan, 10, and eight-year-old Sasha, and the ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ maker also appeared to have furiously hit out at her ex’s new girlfriend Clara Chia in a searingly candid first interview on the break-up.
Shakira told Mexican channel Canal Estrellas in an apparent dig at 23-year-old Clara, with whom her ex went Instagram official last month: “There is a place in hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.”
She admitted she had “bought into” the “story” a “woman needed a man to be complete”.
But she says she’s now realised she can be “self-sufficient”.
She added: “I bought that story, that a woman needed a man to complete herself. I also had that dream of a family where the children had a mum and dad under the same roof.
“You don’t achieve all your dreams in life but life has a way of compensating you and I think life has certainly done it with me with the marvellous two children I have who fill me with love every day.
“I’ve always been emotionally quite dependant on men, I’ve fallen in love with love, and I think I’ve been able to understand that story from another perspective and today I am sufficient on my own.”
She went on about feeling stronger as a single mum: “When a woman has to face life’s battles she comes out stronger.
“Now paradoxically I feel complete because I depend on myself and I have two children who depend on me and that means I have to be stronger than a lioness.
“That strength comes out of experiencing a painful loss, of accepting it, of tolerating a frustration, of understanding that life doesn’t always bring us what we want.
“There are dreams that are broken and you have to pick up the little pieces from the ground and put yourself together again, and also be an example to my children.
“Now I’ve got more confidence in myself. I didn’t know I could end up being strong. I always thought I was more fragile. It’s true that I’ve got a bit of everything but you have to have faith.”
Shakira is said to have been left convinced Gerard was cheating when she discovered a jar of strawberry jam had been eaten while she was away.
She went on to reference the jam in a music video for her single ‘Te Felicito’, which featured a clip of a head of her collaborator Rauw Alejandro inside an open fridge.
Shakira has also been reported to be building a wall at he property in Barcelona, Spain, to separate he from Gerard’s mum who lives on the same street.
Tagged in Shakira Gerard Pique Milan