Shakira faced several personal challenges while working through her split from Gerard Piqué, including a family health crisis.
The singer, 46, opened up in a recent interview about feeling “betrayed” by speculation that Piqué, 36, had been unfaithful as she simultaneously dealt with the hospitalization of her father, William Mebarak Chadid.
“[My dad] went to Barcelona to console me after I was consumed with sadness because of my separation,” she told People en Español on Monday, June 26. “While he was at [my son] Milan’s first communion, he was gravely injured in an accident. Everything happened at once. My home was falling apart. I was finding out through the press that I had been betrayed while my dad was in the ICU.”
Shakira, who shares sons Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7, with Piqué, thought she “wasn’t going to survive” the hardships. “The man I have loved the most in my life, my father, was leaving me when I needed him the most. I couldn’t talk to him or go to my best friend for the advice I needed so much,” she said about her dad’s “very hard and slow” recovery process.
The “Hips Don’t Lie” performer praised her father for being able to pull through amid his health issues.
“He has overcome COVID once, two accidents, one [bout of] pneumonia and five surgeries — all of this at 91 years of age, in less than six months. My dad is the biggest example of resilience, and my mother has been by his side day and night,” she concluded. “They have both been a reflection of that dream that didn’t come true for me. But I hope they are role models for my kids of love, of patience in relationships, of absolute devotion and zest for life.”
Shakira’s personal life made headlines last year when she confirmed her split from the retired soccer player. The former couple, who started dating in 2011, previously addressed their decision not to tie the knot after more than a decade together.
“To tell you the truth, marriage scares the s—t out of me. I don’t want him to see me as the wife,” Shakira said during 60 Minutes in January 2020. “I want him to see me as the lover, the girlfriend. I want to keep him on his toes. I want him to think that anything’s possible depending on behavior.”
In June 2022, reports surfaced that the “She Wolf” artist caught her then-partner having an affair. The pair did not address the claims at the time, but they confirmed their breakup that same month.
“We regret to confirm that we are separating,” Shakira and Piqué wrote in a joint statement. “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we request respect for (our) privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
Piqué has since moved on with Clara Chia Marti. In September 2022 — one month after her ex was seen kissing the model — Shakira publicly declared that her focus is on her children.
“It’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids,” she told Elle at the time. “Incredibly difficult. … I’ve tried to conceal the situation in front of my kids. I try to do it and to protect them, because that’s my number one mission in life. But then they hear things in school from their friends or they come across some disagreeable, unpleasant news online, and it just affects them, you know?”
