“I feel like a cat with more than nine lives,” Shakira confessed. “Whenever I think I can’t get any better, I suddenly get a second wind. I’ve gone through several stages: denial, anger, pain, frustration, anger again, pain again. Now I’m in a survival stage. Like, just get your head above water. And it’s a reflection stage. And a stage of working very hard and when I have time with my children, really spend it with them.”
Another major life change after her split from the former soccer player? Relocating with her boys from Barcelona to Miami. Amid acclimating her sons to their new home, the artist herself had to come to terms with a new normal.
“Like a blessing in disguise? I think that nothing can compensate for the pain of destroying a family,” Shakira noted. “Of course, I have to keep going for my children’s sake; that’s my greatest motivation. But my biggest dream, more than collecting platinum albums and Grammys, was to raise my sons with their father. Overcome obstacles and grow old together. I know I’m not getting that now.”
As for what the “Whenever, Wherever” artist has learned about herself throughout the process? “My strength. I thought I was much weaker,” she continued. “I used to crumble before the stupidest problems. I’d create a drama because I chipped my tooth or that kind of stuff. But maturing, going through truly difficult things, gives you a sense of perspective and empathy. You learn how to value the good moments and how not to amplify the bad ones.”
