Shakira is taking her talents – and apparently, her children – to South Beach. Days after her ex, Gerard Piqué, hung up his kit and retired from the sport of football/soccer, E! News reported that the two former loves have “signed a custody agreement” surrounding their two boys, Milan and Sasha. Shakira, 45, and Gerard, 35, have reportedly worked out an arrangement that would see Milan, 9 and 7-year-old Sasha would relocate with their mom to Miami, Florida, after spending nearly a decade in Barcelona, Spain. Miami is where Shakira’s maternal family resides, and Barcelona – up until Gerard’s Nov. 3 announcement – was where he played football for the past 14 years.
“Our sole objective is to provide our children with the utmost security and protection,” the two said in a joint statement to E! News, “and hope that they can continue with their lives in a safe and calm environment.” This November statement mirrors the tone of the one they issued five months earlier when announcing the split. “We regret to confirm that we are parting ways,” they told E! at the time. “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect their privacy.”
When speaking about the breakup for the first time, Shakira called it her “darkest hour,” and that she was concerned for her children. “This is really hard to talk about personally … especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye and because our separation is not like a regular separation. And so it’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult,” she said in an interview with Elle.
“There’s not a place where I can hide from them with my kids, except for my own house,” she added. “You know, we can’t take a walk in the park like a regular family or go have an ice cream or do any activity without paparazzi following us. So it’s hard. And I’ve tried to conceal the situation in front of my kids. I try to do it and 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?”
Since the breakup, Shakira has released music that seemed to reference the breakup and the cheating rumors floating around Gerard. “I can only say that either consciously or subconsciously, everything I feel, everything I go through is reflected in the lyrics I write,” she told Elle. “When the glove fits, it fits. Like I said before, my music is that channel.”