Shakira and pro soccer player Gerard Piqué’s love story began with one of her music videos. After Piqué appeaed in the video for her song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the pair connected and never looked back. It’s been 10 years since, and the couple has two children together.
As she prepares to take the stage at the 2020 Super Bowl LIV halftime show, explore their decade-long relationship.
2010: Shakira met Piqué, who has the same birthday as her (coincidentally on February 2, Super Bowl Sunday), on the set of her music video for “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official song of the 2020 FIFA World Cup. Piqué appeared in the video and led his team to a World Cup victory that year.
Both have spoken about their chance meeting. “I wasn’t a soccer fan, so I didn’t know who he was,” Shakira recalled to 60 Minutes. “When I saw the video, I was like, ‘Hmm, that one’s kind of cute.’And then someone decided to introduce us.”
“It all started when we were together in South Africa and I wrote to her,” Piqué told Spain’s TV3 in 2016. “She was already there because she sang in the opening ceremony, and I asked her what the weather was like. It’s the typical stupid question, and the normal answer is to tell me to bring a jacket [June/July are winter in South Africa],” he explained. “But she started telling me what the weather was, like, every minute, and it got to the point where I told her we [Spain] would have to get to the World Cup final to see her again—she was singing at the final.”
2011: In January 2011, the pair confirmed they had split in August 2010, via a joint statement. “Throughout this time we have continued to work together hand in hand, have remained close and have kept the details absolutely private until now,” the remarks concluded.
But the next month the pair was spotted while leaving a restaurant in Barcelona hand-in-hand one day and arriving at the airport the next. According to E!, the pair went IG official in March of that year. “Les presento a mi sol,” it read, which translates to, “I present to you my sunshine.” In May, Piqué kissed Shakira onstage at her Barcelona concert.
2012: January 2012 brought the couple’s first red carpet appearance, at the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala in Switzerland.
In September, Shakira confirmed her pregnancy on Instagram, sharing a sweet bump photo of herself and Piqué. “As some of you may know, Gerard and I are very happy awaiting the arrival of our first baby! At the time we have decided to give priority to this unique moment in our lives,” she wrote on her website.
2013: In an interview with ELLE this year, Shakira spoke about how meeting Piqué impacted her faith. “I think, if you can prove the existence of God, it can only be proven through love,” she explained. “I even had lost my faith for a while. I was becoming as agnostic. And it was really hard, because I was always very religious, and for a few years, maybe because—it sounds so corny—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.”
January 22 brought the birth of Shakira and Piqué’s son Milan Piqué Mebarak. “The name Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn), means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification,” she wrote on her website. “Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth.”
She later told Us Weekly about how involved Piqué was as a parent saying, “Thank God the father is very involved. He has been amazing. The baby spends as much time with me as he does with his dad. He’s the kind of dad who’s full hands on.”He changes diapers, he bathes him, he enjoys playing with the baby, he enjoys feeding him, all of that stuff. So that’s great help for me, you know. I can’t imagine doing all of this and not having the father do his part of the job. So that’s a huge help to me.”
2014: When asked by Glamour if she and Piqué would ever marry Shakira said, “We already have what’s essential, you know? We have a union, a love for each other, and a baby. I think that those aspects of our relationship are already established, and marriage is not going to change them. But if I’m ever going to get married, he’s the one.”
2015: At the beginning of 2015, the couple confirmed to Cosmopolitan Mexico and on Instagram that they would be expecting another baby boy.
On January 29, 2015, they welcomed their son Sasha Piqué Mebarak. “The name Sasha is of Greek and Russian descent and means ‘defender of mankind’ and ‘warrior,'” she wrote on Instagram.
2016: During an interview with Parents, Shakira spoke about the way motherhood had changed her life and relationship with Piqué. “Becoming a mom forced me to re-prioritize and make room for the things that are most important,” she explained, “while recognizing that there are things I can let go of and the world won’t crumble around me.” She continued, “Growing up with a working mom is a start,” she said. “I also think their dad is a good example of a modern man to emulate. Gerard and I pretty much share all parenting responsibilities, although I’m definitely the disciplinarian.”
2017: Shakira released the song “Me Enamoré,” which translates to “I feel in love,” and is a tribute to finding love with Piqué in 2010.
During an interview with Hello!, Shakira gave an update on her growing family with Piqué:”We try to do the best we can. There’s a lot of love, that’s the foundation of any family. You have to take care of it and dedicate time. Family is the most important thing for me. The rest is secondary.” She later said, “We try to hide all the unnatural things and pretend we’re a regular family. I don’t want to overload them with every single detail of my career, or every victory. I’m more interested in them learning about the obstacles, my difficulties and their dad’s. They weren’t born when I was back in Colombia, and every single door was shut in my face. Those are the stories I want to tell them because life isn’t always easy. Not everything happens as you planned.”
2018: In August, Piqué announced his retirement from professional soccer. Shakira shared a message of support for her partner on Instagram. “Love, finished the stage that we will always keep in our hearts,” she wrote next to a picture of Piqué in Spanish. “One of the happiest moments of my life has also been seeing you win in 2010 with the national team and celebrate with Spain champions! Shak.”
2019: In late 2017, Shakira suffered a hemorrhage in her vocal cords, so her speaking was limited. During a Guardian interview she said that through the difficult time, she and Piqué never fought. “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,” she said. “Gerard saw the worst of me.”
2020: During a recent 60 Minutes interview, Shakira explained while she’s still resistant to marrying her longtime partner. “To tell you the truth, marriage scares the sh-t out of me,” she said when asked about their relationship. “I don’t want him to see me as ‘the wife.’ I want him to see me as his girlfriend. Lover, his girlfriend, a little forbidden fruit, you know? I want to keep him on his toes. I want him to think that anything’s possible, depending on behavior.”
Pop sensation Shakira and Barcelona soccer star Gerard Piqué have been heralded by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful couples on the planet. They tell @60Minutes how they met, Sunday. https://t.co/whCMVTO91P pic.twitter.com/ld2ggqgUW8
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 5, 2020
Источник: www.elle.com
