Shakira Opens Up About The Sacrifices She Made During Her Previous, 11-Year Relationship

Shakira is opening up about her previous relationship and the impact she says it had on her career.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the mom of two talked about her 11-year relationship with Gerard Piqué and the sacrifices she says she made in order to make it work.

“For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so he could play football,” Shakira said. "There was a lot of sacrifice for love."

Shakira and her ex, Piqué, first met in 2010 on the set of the "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" music video before publicly confirming their relationship in 2011. The exes share two children together—sons Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9.

In June, 2022, the former couple announced their separation, issuing a joint statement.

"We regret to confirm that we are separating," the statement read. "We ask for privacy at this moment for the well-being of our children, who are our maximum priority. Thank you in advance for your understanding and respect."

In a previous interview with Billboard, the "Hips Don't Lie" singer talked about her continued belief in "till death do us part" during her relationship with Piqué.

"My priority was my home, my family. I believed in 'till death do us part.' I believed that dream," she told the publication at the time. "My parents have been together, I don’t know, 50 years, and they love each other like the first day, with a love that’s unique and unrepeatable, so I know it’s possible. It’s what I wanted for myself and my children, but it didn’t happen."

In 2020, during an interview with 60 Minutes, Shakira also admitted she was afraid of marriage.

"To tell you the truth, marriage scares the (expletive) out of me," she said at the time, Hello! reports. "I don't want him to see me as the wife. I'd rather him see me as his girlfriend.

"His lover, his girlfriend. It's like a little forbidden fruit, you know?" she added. "I wanna keep him on his toes. I want him to think that anything's possible depending on his behavior."