Shakira Thought She Was ‘Weaker’ Before Her Brutal Split From Gerard Piqué

Shakira is finally talking about the deep self-doubt she felt after her split from Gerard Piqué four years ago. For over a decade, she thought she wasn’t strong enough emotionally to handle a major breakup. But when it actually happened, along with all the media hype and legal issues in 2022, she surprised herself—she held it together.

Instead of falling apart, she turned her pain into smash hits. With a big performance at the World Cup on the horizon, Shakira is showing how much she’s grown. Far from being broken by her fears, she now sees her strength in the very things she thought would crush her.

Shakira Is Navigating Fame With Resilience

Shakira spent over a decade thinking she couldn’t handle a major breakup. Then, in 2022, her relationship with Piqué fell apart in the spotlight, with claims of infidelity making things worse.

On top of that, she faced a huge tax fraud case in Spain. So not only was she dealing with heartbreak, but also a grueling trial and harsh judgments from the public. The stress changed how she saw herself, too.

“I always thought that I was more fragile or weaker than what life proved me to be,” Shakira told People.

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Strangely enough, the tough times pushed her to grow psychologically. Instead of becoming bitter, she sees the pain as a vital part of her development. Reflecting on the painful split in Barcelona, she believes the trauma helped her become a better individual.

“Behind every experience in life, there’s always a lesson, and we have to be grateful for all those lessons, even for the people that leave you with scars. Because they just make us better,” she explained.

Channeling Heartache Into An Artistic Rebirth

Shakira shows her true strength by fiercely reclaiming control of her story. Instead of hiding, she turned her personal pain into powerful hits and transformed her music into a tool for recovery and resistance.

A major turning point came when she released “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53.” This fiery collaboration with Argentine producer Bizarrap broke global streaming records. It demonstrated that Shakira was no longer just vulnerable; she’d become an unstoppable force.

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Now, this bold mindset is pushing Shakira toward incredible career peaks. Most notably, she’ll headline the halftime show of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside Madonna and BTS.

The stage will be historic for another reason, too. Sixteen years earlier, she performed “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where she first met footballer Gerard Piqué.

“I have this connection with [soccer] that seems unbreakable,” Shakira noted, signaling her refusal to let past trauma dictate her passions.

“Every World Cup is really magical, and I think this one is going to be all about bringing people together in this very sensitive moment in time, socially and politically,” she stated.

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