Colombian pop star Shakira and Spanish football player Gerard Piqué have split after 12 years of dating. “We regret to confirm that we are parting ways,” they both said in a statement today. Shakira, 45, and Piqué, 35, have two children together.
Reuters/Sergio Pérez
“For the sake of our children, who are our top priority, we ask that our privacy be respected,” the statement said. The singer and FC Barcelona defender have long been considered a dream couple. The American magazine “Forbes” elected the two among the top ten of the “most powerful couples in the world”.
With over 60 million albums sold, Shakira is one of the most successful musicians of the last two decades. Piqué won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with the Spanish national team. With his club Barcelona, he won the Champions League title three times.
The couple had lived together on the outskirts of Barcelona for years. However, both were also targeted by the Spanish judiciary: for Shakira, a lawsuit for alleged tax fraud in the amount of 14.5 million euros is approaching. Pique, on the other hand, was acquitted of tax fraud over income from image rights in late 2021.