Shakira Says She Learned Gerard Pique 'Betrayed' Her While Dad Was In ICU

In an interview with People en Español, the 46-year-old Colombian singer recalled going through a difficult time last year, revealing that she learned she had been "betrayed" while her father, William Mebarak Chadid, was in the hospital.

Shakira called her 91-year-old father her "best friend," and shared that he traveled to Barcelona to be by her side following her June 2022 split from Pique, with whom she shares sons Milan, 10, and Sasha, 7.

"He went to Barcelona to console me after I was consumed with sadness because of my separation. While he was at Milan's first communion, he was gravely injured in an accident," she said of her father's fall. "Everything happened at once. My home was falling apart. I was finding out through the press that I had been betrayed while my dad was in the ICU."

Shakira admitted that she worried she "wasn't going to survive" dealing with both what was happening with her relationship with Pique and her father's injury.

"The man I have loved the most in my life, my father, was leaving me when I needed him the most. I couldn't talk to him, or go to my best friend for the advice I needed so much," she said of her father, adding that while his recovery has "been very hard and slow," he's "a wonderful man and an endearing character who surprises us all with his strength."

"He has overcome COVID once, two accidents, one pneumonia and five surgeries -- all of this at 91 years of age, in less than six months. My dad is the biggest example of resilience, and my mother has been by his side day and night," she explained. "They have both been a reflection of that dream that didn't come true for me. But I hope they are role models for my kids of love, of patience in relationships, of absolute devotion and zest for life."

Shakira and Pique, 36, called it quits in June 2022 after 11 years together. 10 months after she and her soccer star ex announced they were separating, Shakira moved out of their home in Barcelona to relocate in Miami.

The "Hips Don't Lie" singer's move came after she hashed out a custody agreement with Pique in late 2022. According to TMZ, a source close to the former couple said the pair "signed an agreement that is best for the kids -- which is their main focus and after 8 years of living in Barcelona -- her and the kids will now move back to her longtime home of Miami, where all the maternal family is."

Meanwhile, in a sit-down interview with Mexican journalist Enrique Acevedo in February 2023, per Marca, the "Waka Waka" singer opened up about her separation from Pique, and shared what she's learned about herself since.

Towards the beginning of the interview, Shakira explained why it's important for women to have a voice, and for women to support other women.

"Through my songs I have always felt the duty to use my voice and lend it to those who cannot speak," she said. "I have realized that women are at a key moment for society, at a point where the support we can receive from each other is very relevant.

"And as Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State used to say: 'There is a place reserved in hell for those women who do not support others,'" she added, appearing to shade Pique's rumored girlfriend, 24-year-old Clara Chia Marti.

Shakira also discussed her song, "BZRP Music Sessions #53," which is a collaboration with DJ Bizarrap. In the upbeat track, Shakira appears to take aim at Pique and Clara as she drags an unnamed ex and his new girlfriend.

"I'm right in the center of the debate because of this song," Shakira said, noting that the song's lyrics were inspired by how she was feeling following her breakup from Pique.