'Now I'm free', says Shakira as superstar singer reveals ex-husband and Barcelona legend Gerard Pique 'dragged me down'

Posted Friday, March 29, 2024 by Thesun.co.uk

SHAKIRA has opened up on her break-up from Gerard Pique and claimed her ex "dragged her down".

The Colombian superstar, 47, split with the former Barcelona star in 2022 after 11 years together.

She has since poured her focus back into her music, releasing her first full album in seven years last Friday.

Promoting the record, titled "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran", meaning "Women no longer cry", Shakira appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Referencing her previous relationship, the global superstar did not hold back.

She said: "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 of the husband factor.

"Now I'm husbandless. Yeah, the husband was dragging me down. Now I'm free. Now I can actually work."

Referencing the name of her album, she giggled: "It's men's turn now.

"For too long we have been sent to cry with a script in our hands and without an end just because we are women.

"We have to conceal our pain in front of our kids, in front of society."

Shakira's new album features references to Pique.

It includes a song titled Ultima, which features the lyrics: "Surely with time you’ll regret it, and someday you’ll want to come back to my door."

Asked if those words were aimed at Pique, Shakira told The Times: "Voldemort, that one that shouldn't be mentioned? It's hopefully the last song that I will write about this, and to him.

"I felt that there was still something there, stuck in my throat, and I needed to get it out.

"I played it to the marketing head at Sony and he started crying. I'd never seen a man cry in my studio before."

Shakira and Pique had two children together during their 11-year relationship, during which they were never actually married - Milan, 11, and Sasha, nine.

Pique, 37, is now dating Clara Chia Marti, 25.