Talking to Elle a year ago, her first interview addressing her breakup, Shakira explained why her situation was particularly complicated.
“It’s hard to talk about it, especially because I’m still going through it,” she said, “and because I’m in the public eye and because 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.”
Paparazzi wouldn’t leave them alone, she continued, and she tried to shield Milan and Sasha as much as she could.
“But then,” she added, “they hear things in school from their friends or they come across some disagreeable, unpleasant news online, and it just affects them, you know?…It’s really upsetting for two kids who are trying to process their parents’ separation. And sometimes I just feel like this is all a bad dream and that I’m going to wake up at some point. But no, it’s real.”