Before Shakira even met Gerard, she was in a long term relationship with Antonio de la Rúa, a lawyer and the son of the former president of Argentina. The two were together for nearly over a decade, from 2000 to 2011. She had spoken out in interviews about how she did not feel the need to marry Antonio, as the two were essentially already living as a married couple.
But, their bliss ended with a separation in 2010, which the singer assured fans would only be temporary. Antonio continued to oversee Shakira's business ventures, which turned ugly in 2012, a year after they permanently split. He ended up suing her for $100 million, but the case was soon dismissed.
Shakira took on the role of singing the official World Cup song, "Waka Waka," in 2010. While filming the video that would play for World Cup promos and during commercials, Shakira met Gerard Pique, who was playing for the Spanish national team. Gerard can be seen alongside Shakira and several other players in the music video. The pair spoke after the video was filmed, and they hit it off.
The couple shares a birthday, and they are exactly 10 years apart in age. Their bond was immediate for the soccer player, though the singer may have been reluctant to begin a serious relationship so soon after she was burned by her last one.
Gerard also spoke about their relationship in 2016 to TV3, saying that he knew he had to go to great lengths to see her again after filming the video (like getting to the World Cup final).
"It all started when we were in South Africa and I wrote to her. She was already there because she sang in the opening ceremony and I asked her what the weather was like. It is the typical stupid question, and the normal answer is to tell me to bring a jacket. But she started telling me what the weather was like in every single moment and it got to the point where I told her we would have to get to the World Cup final to see her again — she was singing at the final."
Gerard and the Spanish national team went on to win the World Cup that year, so he was able to reunite with Shakira. The rest is history, and they've been together ever since. We'll have to wait until the Super Bowl to potentially see the soccer star in the audience, rooting Shakira on.
