Shakira declares she is ‘free’ after Gerard Piqué split: ‘Husband was dragging me down’

Less than a week after Shakira released Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, she opened up about why she waited seven years to create her 12th studio album. The Colombian pop star has offered tidbits about how her career was impacted by her relationship with her former partner, Gerard Piqué. But now, Shakira is not mincing words when it comes to how he held her back.

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Shakira, 47, and Gerard, 37, announced their split in June 2022, after 11 years together. They have two children, Sasha, 9, and Milan, 11. And while discussing the sizable gap between her 2017 album and the one released on March 22, the "Hips Don't Lie" singer blamed her former partner.

Shakira explained why she released her first album in seven years.

During a March 25 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Shakira opened up about her new album, Mujeres Ya No Lloran. "I've been putting out music here and there but it was really hard for me to put together a body of work," Shakira explained of why it's been seven years since she released a full album.

She added: "I didn't have time. It was the husband factor. Now I'm husband-less. Yeah, the husband was dragging me down. Now I'm free. Now I can actually work."

She also discussed the significance of the album's title.

The title of Shakira's album translates in English to "Women No Longer Cry." When Jimmy asked about the meaning, she answered, "It's men's turn now."

Shakira elaborated: "For too long we have been sent to cry with a script in our hands and without an end just because we are women. We have to conceal our pain in front of our kids, in front of society."

"We have to heal in a certain way," the mom of two explained. "And I don't think anyone is supposed to tell us how to heal. No one is supposed to tell a She-wolf how to lick her wounds."

'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran' has already found huge success.

Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran was released on Friday, March 22—and already, it is a massive success. Within the first 24 hours, it became the most-streamed album of 2024. The album was certified seven times platinum, Jimmy pointed out, and it has been streamed 10 billion times globally.

Shakira previously admitted that she sacrificed a lot in her relationship with Gerard.

On March 16, Shakira shared with The Times about how she prioritized Gerard's career aspirations over her own. "For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so he could play football," she told the publication. "There was a lot of sacrifice for love."

They lived in Spain for the sake of Gerard's soccer career.

Not long after Shakira and Gerard announced their split, the pop star discussed how her family lived in Barcelona, Spain, so Gerard could play for FC Barcelona.

"I put my career in second gear and I came to Spain, to support him so he could play football and win titles. And it was a sacrifice of love," she told Elle. "Thanks to that, my kids were able to have a present mom, and I have this amazing bond with them that is unbreakable and that sustains us. You know, that is it. That’s all I can say."

Working on her album was a way Shakira processed the end of her relationship.

"I was raw. I was dealing with a lot of stuff. I felt at times with a knife between my teeth," she told Jimmy. "I was picking up the pieces of myself from the floor. I was trying to rebuild myself. Music was the glue."

By her album, she was "transforming pain and anger and frustration" into "creativity, productivity, strength and resilience."