'Like a hole in my chest': Shakira reveals the 'greatest suffering' of her life
In 2022, Shakira and her ex-partner Gerard Piqué announced that their 11-year relationship had come to an end.
What followed was a period of "suffering" almost too much for the Hips Don't Lie singer to bear.
Cheating allegations made headlines and viral breakup songs sent fans into a frenzy while Shakira was plunged into the depths of heartbreak.
Two years later, the Latin music sensation has opened up about the experience in a new interview with Rolling Stone.
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Two years after her separation from Gerard Piqué, Shakira gets candid about the "suffering" she endured. Getty Images for MTV
"The suffering I felt was probably the greatest I had ever experienced in my entire life, and it kept me from functioning at times," she revealed.
"It felt like someone had stabbed a hole in my chest. And the sensation was so real, almost physical.
"I physically felt like I had a hole in my chest and that people could see through me."
On top of navigating a very turbulent public breakup and trying to protect their two children, Milan and Sasha, Shakira was dealt two more blows.
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The singer's dad had been hospitalised after suffering a fall with doctors warning he might not survive and a tax fraud case she had been facing since 2018 made headlines.
"When it rains, it pours," Shakira said of the difficult period.
"It was crazy, how many things I had to deal with at the same time."
To deal with the heart-wrenching pain, Shakira turned to her music.
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Shakira has turned to her music to process the difficult emotions and has found a new "freedom". Amy Harris/Invision/AP
"I had this urge to express myself through my art, my visions, my music, transferring all that pain, all those sharp moments to a space outside of myself," she explains.
Since facing the lowest of lows during her separation, Shakira has been navigating her emotions through her music expression and found new artistic freedom.
"In finding this freedom, I also found myself," she tells Rolling Stone.
"This has been a journey back to myself, and the way there was through my music.
"I'm in a moment where the worst has happened, and this process woke up a new sense of autonomy and independence in me."
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