Shakira and Gerard Pique Shutterstock (2)
Setting the record straight. ShakiraHer silence on her separation from her ex-husband was broken Gerard Piqué — and addressed her ongoing tax evasion case in Spain.
“This is really hard to talk about personally, especially as this is the first time I’ve ever addressed this situation in an interview,” the “She Wolf” songstress, 45, explained in an interview with EllePublished Wednesday, September 21, 2009. “I’ve remained quiet and just tried to process it all. … It’s hard to talk about it, especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye and because our separation is not like a regular separation.”
After 12 years of being together, the pop star and the 35-year-old soccer player called it quits in June. “We regret to confirm that we are separating,” the duo said in a joint statement at the time. “For the wellbeing of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect their privacy.”
The Grammy winner noted that the breakup has been particularly hard for the pair’s sons, Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7.
“It’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids,” the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer told the outlet. “Incredibly difficult. … I’ve tried to conceal the situation in front of my kids. I try to do it and to protect them, because that’s my number one mission in life. But then they hear things in school from their friends or they come across some disagreeable, unpleasant news online, and it just affects them, you know?”
Last month, Piqué was spotted packing on the PDA with Clara ChíaAt a concert in Spain. Exclusively, an insider told Us Weekly at the time that Shakira was “heartbroken” over the photos. “She is happy to have her kids to lean on as this is a tough time for her,” the source added.
Gerard Pique (left) and Shakira (right) attend the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 18, 2014. Shutterstock
The Colombia native didn’t address the reason for her and Piqué’s split, but she called the past few months “the darkest hour of my life.” In addition to the breakup, Shakira is also caring for her ailing father and dealing with tax evasion charges brought by the Spanish government.
Prosecutors in Spain charged the Latin Grammy winner with defrauding the government by defrauding them of more than $15M in taxes between 2012 and 2014. Authorities claim that Shakira claimed to have lived in the Bahamas during this time, while actually she was in Catalonia.
In July, a Spanish prosecution announced that Shakira could face a sentence of eight years imprisonment and a fine amounting to 23 million euros if she is convicted of tax evasion. At the time, a rep for the artist denied the tax agency’s claims and said Shakira considers the case “a total violation of her rights.”
The former Voice coach denied the “false accusations” again on Wednesday, calling them “fictional” claims.
“First of all, I didn’t spend 183 days per year [in Spain] at that time at all,” she told Elle. “I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world. Second, I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. As of today, I owe them nothing. And finally, I was advised by one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world, PricewaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one.”
No trial date has been set, but Shakira said she feels “confident” that she has “enough proof” to support her case. “Justice will prevail in my favor,” she added.
