Shakira isn't dwelling on the end of her relationship with Gerard Piqué. Instead, she's embracing her newfound "freedom" after their 2022 split.
The Colombian superstar, 47, who was with the 37-year-old Spanish ex-footballer for 11 years, is looking forward with a sense of liberation.
Shakira and Gerard share two sons, Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9. Reflecting on the relationship, Shakira revealed that it impacted her music career significantly.
“I’ve been putting out music here and there, but it was really hard for me to put together a body of work. I didn’t have time, because the husband factor. Now I’m husband-less, but yeah, the husband was dragging me down,” she candidly shared with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show while promoting her new album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.
“Now I’m free! Now I can actually work!” she declared, her excitement palpable. The title of the album, translating to "Women Don’t Cry Anymore," marks her first major release since 2017's El Dorado.
Shakira elaborated: “It’s men’s turn now. Too long we’ve been sent to cry with a script in our hands and without an end, just because we’re women, have to conceal our pain in front of our kids, in front of society.
“We have to heal in a certain way. And I don’t think anyone is supposed to tell us how to heal. Like, no one is supposed to tell a she-wolf how to lick her wounds and I think that now women decide when to cry, how to cry, and until when,” her words resonating deeply with the audience.
Emphasizing her newfound independence, she added: “Yeah, nobody’s supposed to tell us how to cope with a hardship of life.”
Shakira admitted that she was "raw" while working on the album, dealing with various challenges and trying to rebuild herself. “Music was the glue,” she explained. “Each one of these songs was like a catharsis.” Her latest music is a testament to her journey of healing and empowerment.
In a recent Rolling Stone profile, Shakira opened up about the painful aftermath of her split with Gerard.
“The suffering I felt was probably the greatest I had ever experienced in my entire life, and it kept me from functioning at times,” she shared.
“It felt like someone had stabbed a hole in my chest,” she said, describing a visceral experience that inspired the imagery in her 2022 music video for "Monotonía." “And the sensation was so real, almost physical. I physically felt like I had a hole in my chest and that people could see through me.”
Beyond her personal heartbreak, Shakira also faced significant legal challenges. She was embroiled in a tax fraud case in Spain, ultimately reaching a settlement in November.
Admitting to failing to pay approximately 14.5 million euros in taxes between 2012 and 2014, she received a three-year suspended sentence after agreeing to a 7.3 million euro fine.