Heartbreak can feel like a kick to the gut, and there were plenty of those going down on Wednesday when Shakira took one of her and Gerard Piqué’s sons to karate in Barcelona, Spain. The outing marked the first time Shakira, 45, was seen in public since she and Gerard, 35, announced the end of their relationship. In the photos, the “Queen of Latin Music” held the hand of her and Gerard’s seven-year-old son, Sasha, while exiting the karate class. Shakira kept it casual with a “Locals Only” t-shirt, a pair of distressed jeans, and some fashionable sunglasses.
Shakira and Gerard announced the end of their eleven years together on June 4. “We regret to confirm that we are separating,” the couple said in a statement released by Shakira’s public relations firm. The couple also share a 9-year-old son, Milan. “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding,” read the statement.
The former lovebirds first met in March 2011 on the set of Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” her anthem for the World Cup. Over the next decade-plus, the two seemed like a perfect match. However, Spanish news outlet El Periodico reported there was trouble in paradise, publishing a report on how Gerard had moved out of the family home in Barcelona to live by himself. Shakira might have also hinted at this heartbreak in her latest single, ”Te Felecito.” On the track, she sang, “For completing you I broke into pieces/They warned me, but I did not pay attention. Do not tell me you’re sorry, that seems sincere, but I know you well and I know you lie.”
As for what might have caused the split, Shakira said on the Planet Weirdo with Holly H podcast that Gerard got “tired of waiting up” for Shakira. “[Because] Colombian time is not the same as Catalonian time, Spanish time,” the South American singing sensation said of her Spanish soccer superstar.
Shakira has proudly supported Sasha’s karate ambitions. In February, she posted an Instagram video of her son taking first place at a karate tournament. “Next time, if they don’t want me to yell so much they’ll have to take me with a muzzle!” she captioned the video of Sasha taking his spot on the first-place podium, before holding up his championship certificate. “Mi amor, mi amor! Oh my god, Sasha!” Shakira can be heard screaming in a video Shakira posted in December 2021 (h/t Entertainment Tonight). “When your six-year-old accomplishes something and you are more into it than getting any Grammy!” she captioned that older video. “Btw I’m the deranged woman screaming in the back”