Singer Shakira and her partner soccer player Gerard Pique parted ways after 12 years of staying together in a relationship. The couple in a statement released on Saturday confirmed the news.

“We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding,” read the statement released by Shakira’s public relations firm as reported by Reuters.

Shakira and Gerard met during a promotional event during the 2010 World Cup, where she performed the Waka Waka song. They were together since 2011 and have two children named Sasha and Milan.

With her unique vocals and popular songs, the singer has won many awards including Grammys. She performed with Jennifer Lopez at the halftime show of the NFL's Super Bowl championship final in Miami.

The couple announced their separation just over a week after Spanish court documents inched Shakira closer to standing trial in Spain for tax fraud after a Barcelona court dismissed an appeal from the singer. Spanish prosecutors accuse her of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($15.5 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014. They say she moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Gerard became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.

Her defence lawyers say she moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and insist that her "conduct on tax matters has always been impeccable in all the countries she had to pay taxes” in an interview with AFP in 2019.

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