Shakira opens up about split from Gerard Piqué, how she learned he 'betrayed' her

Shakira is opening up about her split from former soccer player Gerard Piqué — and how she learned her once-partner had "betrayed" her.

It happened shortly after her 91-year-old father, William Mebarak Chadid, was hospitalized for a bad fall.

"He went to Barcelona to console me after I was consumed with sadness because of my separation," Shakira told People en Español of Chadid. "He was gravely injured in an accident. Everything happened at once. My home was falling apart. I was finding out through the press that I had been betrayed while my dad was in the ICU."

The incident happened when Chadid was at Shakira and Piqué's son Milan's first communion. She and Piqué are parents to Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7.

Chadid is recovering, but the process has been long, Shakira said.

But the period that followed his fall, and the news of Piqué's betrayal, was not easy on the "Hips Don't Lie" singer. She told People she thought she "wasn't going to survive" that time. "The man I have loved the most in my life, my father, was leaving me when I needed him the most. I couldn’t talk to him, or go to my best friend for the advice I needed so much."

She praised her father's resilience.

"He has overcome COVID once, two accidents, one (bout of) pneumonia and five surgeries – all of this at 91 years of age, in less than six months. My dad is the biggest example of resilience, and my mother has been by his side day and night," she said. "They have both been a reflection of that dream that didn't come true for me. But I hope they are role models for my kids of love, of patience in relationships, of absolute devotion and zest for life."

Shakira and Piqué announced their split just over a year ago after more than a decade together.

According to People, the couple first confirmed their relationship in March 2011. In 2012, Shakira revealed she was pregnant with their first child. The couple never chose to get married – but appeared to be happy as longtime partners.

While dealing with the separation, "Hips Don't Lie" singer has had a year full of achievements – some with ties to the uncoupling.

She received the Woman of the Year award at Billboard's inaugural Latin Women in Music 2023 gala in May. The award came after a record-breaking music year, during which she crushed more than a dozen Guinness World Records with "Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions #53." The song – which seemingly shades her ex – made its debut at No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. That feat alone made her the first woman to have a song on the chart's top 10 in Spanish, according to Billboard.

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At the May event, Shakira said that when she felt most lost, music helped her find her way back to herself, alluding to her split.

The singer worked on the record smashing song "#53" with producer Bizarrap as part of his Music Sessions project, writing the lyrics for the track.

"I was out of your league," she sings in the upbeat breakup song, a reference to Piqué's former career as a soccer player for Manchester United and Barcelona. The footballer retired in November.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Wyatte Grantham-Philips