The footballer’s affair was revealed just as we thought there was hope for celebrity couples. While fans are still reeling from the Spanish footballer’s divorce from long-term partner Columbian singer Shakira, the songstress has spoken out about the split.

In an online interview, the ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer explained how “fighting on different fronts” meant she was going through “probably the darkest hour of my life.”

Aside from the divorce and custody battle for their two children, her father’s illness and legal issues with Spanish tax authorities complicate matters.

In response to the highly public split, she stated that she is still reeling from accepting that reality.

“Sometimes, I still feel like this is all a bad dream and that I’m going to wake up at some point, … 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 vulgarised and cheapened by the media.”

On her split with Gerard, the Waka Waka singer spoke up about how their children are coping with it.

“I’ve remained quiet and just tried to process it all. And yeah, it’s hard to talk about it, especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye and our separation is not like a regular separation. And so 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 the paparazzi following us. So it’s hard,” she said.

“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?”