Category - Entertainment
Who Is Shakira's Ex? Inside Her and Gerard Piqué's Split
Shakira is blowing up in music once again. The Colombian pop star behind giant hits like “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever” is nominated for Best Latin Pop Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards, for her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, featuring none other than Cardi B on single "Puntería.”
What’s the album about? Word is that it’s influenced by Shakira’s own real-life experiences involving her breakup from Gerard Piqué, which she translates into empowering pop anthems. But who exactly is Piqué? Here we cover everything you need to know about her now-dissolved relationship with her longtime boyfriend, ahead of her nomination at the Grammys on February 2.
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Who Is Gerard Piqué?
Shakira needs no introduction if you’ve listened to the radio in the past two decades. But Gerard Piqué, the boyfriend from whom she recently split, probably does need some explanation. The singer was with Piqué for 11 years before the couple announced their separation in a joint statement on June 4, 2022. They never formally married, so he wasn't technically Shakira's husband.
"We regret to confirm that we are separating," the pair said per People, requesting privacy for the well-being of their children, who are their "maximum priority."
The couple met in 2010 while on the set of Shakira’s "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" music video. This is significant because that song was the official theme of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. A number of international soccer players (aka footballers) made cameos in the video, including Piqué, at the time an FC Barcelona defender.
"I wasn't a soccer fan, so I didn't know who he was," Shakira told 60 Minutes in 2020. "When I saw the video, I was like, 'Hmm, that one's kind of cute.' And then someone decided to introduce us.' ”
The feeling was mutual. "It all started when we were together in South Africa and I wrote to her," Piqué told Spain's TV3. "She was already there because she sang in the opening ceremony, and I asked her what the weather was like. She started telling me what the weather was, like, every minute, and it got to the point where I told her we [the Spanish team] would have to get to the World Cup final to see her again—she was singing at the final."
The kicker is that Spain indeed won the 2010 World Cup, and the two new loves made things official in 2011. Then they welcomed two sons together, Milan and Sasha.
What Happened to the Relationship?
Though both Shakira and Piqué remain pretty tight-lipped about how their relationship ended after 11 years of dating seriously, people speculated. Fans have read into Shakira’s recent (quite voluminous) musical output, assuming songs must be about how she fell out with him. And many of those theories hinge on the idea that he cheated on her.
Meanwhile, the Spanish news outlet El Periodico alleged that the two had made their decision to separate after Piqué was caught cheating, according to Rolling Stone. That is unconfirmed, but it’s safe to say the couple is officially done.