“We regret to confirm that we are separating,” the couple said in a joint statement obtained by PEOPLE.
Fans are overwhelmed to know that pop star Shakira and her longtime partner, Gerard Pique, have confirmed that they are separating after days of speculations. The duo, who began dating 11 years ago, grabbed headlines earlier this month after reports surfaced that Shakira caught the Spanish footballer with another woman. They did not clarify the rumors at the time.
“We regret to confirm that we are separating,” the couple said in a joint statement obtained by PEOPLE. “We ask for privacy at this moment for the well-being of our children, who are our maximum priority. Thank you in advance for your understanding and respect.”
The two met 12 years ago when the footballer featured in the music video for Shakira’s song “Waka Waka,” the official song of the 2010 World Cup. The video has over 3.1 billion views on YouTube.
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During a podcast appearance in February, Shakira said that she and her “poor husband, slash boyfriend, slash baby daddy” sometimes disagree about timeliness because of their different upbringings.
The couple announced their separation just over a week after Spanish court documents inched Shakira closer to standing trial in Spain for tax fraud after a Barcelona court dismissed an appeal from the singer.
Spanish prosecutors accuse her of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($15.5 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
They say she moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Pique became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
Her defense lawyers say she moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and insist that her “conduct on tax matters has always been impeccable in all the countries she had to pay taxes”.
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