Who Is Shakira's Ex, Gerard Pique? Inside Their Messy Split After 11 Years, 2 Kids, Cheating Rumours

Shakira, the musical powerhouse, is back in the spotlight, and this time, she has brought her sons along. Shakira’s sons, Milan (12) and Sasha (10), made their rare red carpet appearance in the Zootopia 2 premiere at Los Angeles on November 13, 2025, officially confirming their animated debut in the much-awaited Disney movie sequel. With their recent appearance, the spotlight has quietly swung back to their estranged father, retired Spanish football star Gerard Piqué.

Once dubbed one of pop culture’s most beloved couples, Shakira and Piqué’s split dominated headlines, fueling chart-topping revenge anthems and even reshaping the Loca singer’s life and music. With the relationship gaining attention, here’s the full story of who Piqué is, their love story, and why it all imploded after more than a decade together.

Meet Gerard Piqué, the Spanish football star who won Shakira’s heart

To the world, Shakira was already a global superstar. But in 2010, when she was filming the iconic Waka Waka music video for the FIFA World Cup, she met Gerard Piqué, a handsome FC Barcelona defender who immediately caught her attention. The singer herself admitted later that she wasn’t even a soccer fan when she met Piqué, but seeing him restored her faith. She told Elle in 2013:

"I think, if you can prove the existence of God, it can only be proven through love. I even had lost my faith for a while. I was becoming an agnostic… I was not feeling the love like it was supposed to be; I started to think that there was no God. And suddenly I meet Gerard and the sun comes out."

After secretly dating for a while, Shakira and Gerard made their relationship official in 2011, posting a photo of the Barcelona defender hugging the singer from behind, paired with the caption "Les presento a mi sol" (I present to you my sun). Not long after this, the pair shared a kiss and embraced on the stage during the Barcelona stop of Shakira’s The Sun Comes Out World Tour. 

A glimpse into their once-fairy tale romance

Shakira and Gerard were officially a couple by the beginning of 2011, and in September 2012, the Hips Don’t Lie singer revealed that they were expecting their first child. The singer posted photos on Instagram featuring a cute baby bump, and the couple exuded pure joy. Months later, on January 22, 2013, their first child, Milan Piqué Mebarak, was born. Speaking about the name, the new parents shared on Shakira’s website:

"The name Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn) means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification. Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth."

After welcoming Milan, Shakira credited her then-boyfriend, Gerard, as a “hands-on dad” who supported her schedule. And by the end of 2014, the couple were pregnant again, announcing the news on her Facebook and later in the September issue of Cosmopolitan en Español.

Shakira and Gerard’s second son, Sasha, was born on January 29, 2015, in Barcelona. As they did with his older brother Milan, the couple also shared the meaningful origin behind his name. The singer wrote in the birth announcement note:

"The name Sasha is of Greek and Russian descent and means ‘defender of mankind' and 'warrior.”

A romance that slowly fell apart behind the scenes

Despite their picture-perfect public moments, things were far from smooth behind the scenes. In 2017, Shakira suffered a haemorrhage in her right vocal cord and temporarily lost her voice, plunging her into depression. She couldn’t sing, struggled to communicate with her family, and felt increasingly isolated. Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, she revealed how the ordeal left her emotionally exposed, admitting that Piqué saw her at one of the most vulnerable points of her life. She shared:

"He jokes that you would think you would want your wife to shut up — but when I had to remain quiet, he felt like one of those ex-convicts who are given their freedom and don't know what to do with it. I was not positive. I was so pessimistic. I was a bitter person to be around. Gerard saw the worst of me."

By 2020, the couple had been together for nine years, and fans started to wonder why there wasn’t a ring on her finger even after having two kids with Gerard. In a joint interview with Piqué on 60 Minutes, the singer confessed her reservations about marriage, explaining that she would rather be a girlfriend than a wife.

Over the years, the couple’s relationship grew increasingly complicated. Despite supporting each other through difficult moments (Piqué caring for Shakira during her depression, and Shakira pausing her career for his demanding football schedule), tensions rose as their lifestyles clashed. Shakira later admitted that many of their arguments stemmed from one simple issue: her habitual lateness.

The shocking breakup and cheating allegations

After 11 years together, Shakira and Piqué announced their separation on June 4, 2022. The news followed reports from El Periodico that Piqué had been living apart from her and their children. In a September 2022 interview, Shakira called the aftermath of their breakup “the darkest hours of my life.”

But in the months that followed, the truth spilled out from everywhere. In 2023, reports claimed that Piqué had cheated on Shakira multiple times, with the Spanish outlet El Periodico claiming that the ex-footballer was seen with another woman. The speculations only intensified when, only seven months after the split, Piqué went Instagram-official with his new girlfriend, Clara Chia Marti. Shakira later implied the betrayal was real, saying:

“Everything happened at once. My home was falling apart. I was finding out through the press that I had been betrayed while my father was in the ICU.”

Shakira’s musical revenge era

The breakup and the cheating scandal that followed played a huge role in transforming Shakira’s career. After a long break, the singer released her single, Monotonía, in 2022, which depicted her walking around with a literal hole in her chest. In January 2023, her BZRP Music Session #53 became a global phenomenon.

The lyrical takedown of Piqué and his girlfriend, where she accused him of “trading a Ferrari for a Twingo,” “a Rolex for a Casio,” became a viral anthem of heartbreak and empowerment. Shakira’s Grammy-nominated album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, also became a powerful anthem for women.

What’s their living situation after the split?

Shakira and Gerard reached a custody agreement in November 2022. Now, both Milan and Sasha live with their mom, and since the separation, the family has moved to Miami, living in a luxurious waterfront mansion on La Gorce Island. After that difficult phase, Shakira is focused on giving them as normal a life as possible, strongly emphasising their emotional well-being.

Now, as Milan and Sasha prepare to make their Disney debut as voices of Judy Hopps’ little brothers in Zootopia 2, Shakira is standing as a living proof of how heartbreak can reshape a superstar.

Read Next: Meet Shakira's Sons, Milan And Sasha Pique, As They Become Disney's Newest Voices In 'Zootopia 2'

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