Gerard Piqué breaks silence on Shakira split amid new romance: 'I'm very happy'

Gerard Piqué is speaking out amid his nasty split with Shakira. The former soccer player addressed their headline-making breakup for the first time, telling El Pais that "everyone has their responsibility to try to do what is best for their children." Piqué, 36, and the 46-year-old Latin superstar share two children: sons, Milan, 10, and Sasha, 8.

"It is about protecting them," Piqué told the publication, per E! News. "That is the job of all parents with children. That is what I am focused on and that is my job as a father."

The athlete, who went public with 23-year-old girlfriend Clara Chia Martí last year, said he's "very happy."

"I keep doing what I want," he added. "The day I die, I will look back and hope I have always done what I wanted. I want to be faithful to myself. I'm not going to spend money cleaning up my image."

Piqué continued, "The people that I love and care about are the ones who know me. The rest isn't important to me. I spend my energy on being with my loved ones and giving them what I have. I'm very happy. There have been changes in my life and I have known how to preserve happiness."

Piqué and Shakira announced their separation in June 2022 after 11 years together. Although the split seemed amicable at first, rumors of his infidelity popped up in the tabloids. Shakira didn't hide her heartbreak in the press.

In a September interview with Elle, Shakira said she's going through her "darkest hour." On top of her breakup, she's facing accusations of tax evasion from the Spanish government, which she has denied. The Grammy winner shared that she was still trying "to process" the separation.

"It's been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult. I have paparazzi camping outside, in front of my house, 24/7. And there's not a place where I can hide from them with my kids, except for my own house. You know, we can't take a walk in the park like a regular family or go have an ice cream or do any activity without paparazzi following us. So it's hard," she explained. "And 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?"

Shakira said the situation felt like "a bad dream."

"But no, it's real. And what's also real is the disappointment to see something as sacred and as special as I thought was the relationship I had with my kids' father and see that turned into something vulgarized and cheapened by the media," she added.

Shakira seems to be taking back control of the narrative, though. Earlier this year, she released "BZRP Music Session #53," which took aim at her ex and his new girlfriend. It's been a chart-topper for weeks and has been declared an iconic breakup anthem. Even Adele joked two weeks ago that Piqué is "in trouble" after seeing Shakira's sultry performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.