Shakira has reacted to her painful split from ex-Barcelona star Gerard Pique, saying that “life took a husband from me” when they parted ways.

After 11 years and two children together, it was announced in June 2022 that the Colombian popstar and her World Cup-winning partner would be heading in different directions. Despite referring to Pique as her “husband”, the pair never married.

Given the reasons speculated on for their uncoupling, relations between the pair have become strained at times – with Shakira taking to firing shots at Pique in her songs, while the former Spain international defender has claimed that the “truth” regarding their split has never been told.

Shakira has now told GQ Spain of the heartbreak that she endured when seeing a long-term relationship come to a close: “I've realised that friendship is longer than love. I didn't know that. Life took a husband from me but gave me so many friends. I never felt as loved, as held, as I did by my friends. I must have done something right in life to have so many people that love me. These friendships have been there for 20 years or even some new ones that are bulletproof. These are life's rewards. When there's so much pain, God squeezes but he lets you breathe.”

Shakira added on feeling like she was grieving after separating from the father of her two sons, Milan and Sasha: “For many months after my separation I had been silent, trying to begin my mourning, but I couldn’t really begin to grieve until I started writing music. It was my way of healing. And it continues to be. Grief is a process that is not linear. It is full of peaks and valleys.”

She went on to say of how she now views love: “It’s not the same. The love of a partner disappointed me. It affected my idiosyncrasy. It’s inevitable, at least for the moment, that I have lost trust in the other. The healing process is long. It will take me several albums!”

Pique is in another relationship, with the 37-year-old linking up with 25-year-old Clara Chia Marti. He is still involved in several sporting ventures, including The Kings League, while Shakira is focusing much of her attention on music.