Shakira says having a husband was ‘dragging her down’

Even though being a single mother can be challenging, Shakira is embracing her independence as she tries to balance her career and personal life.

The Hips Don’t Lie hitmaker, who split from her footballer ex Gerard Pique in 2022, has reflected on her music career during their 11-year relationship, which also saw her raising their sons Milan and Sasha.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music, she said: “In a way it’s kind of good not to have a husband because it was dragging me down. Now I feel like working, I feel like writing songs, I feel like making music, it’s just a compulsive need that I didn’t have before.”

She added: “I am in charge of these two kids, these two babies who depend on me so much and I’m a single mother, I don’t have a husband at home to help out with anything.”

Last year, Shakira paid tribute to her boys and brought them with her to the MTV Video Music Awards in September, thanking them for helping her get back on her feet after the split from Pique.

In her acceptance speech for the Vanguard Award, she said: “Tonight I want to thank people who have played a key role in my visual history. I want to thank my parents. I want to thank my kids, Milan and Sasha, who are here. Thank you so much for cheering me up and making me feel that Mama can do it all.”

The couple split in June 2022 and later reached a custody agreement which allowed her to leave her adopted home of Barcelona, Spain, and move to the US with her sons. Speaking to Elle magazine in the months after the breakup, Shakira admitted she’s been through an incredibly “difficult” time.

“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. So it’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids,” she explained.

She also highlighted that she has tried to protect her boys by hiding the fallout from the couple’s split, but it’s been a tough task.

“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?” Shakira added.