Shakira may be one of the most recognizable names in pop culture, but fans are only just realizing who her boyfriend is.<\/p>\n
The Colombian megastar will be performing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony in Mexico City tonight (June 11), ahead of the clash between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa.<\/p>\n
Whether she likes it or not, the artist will remain synonymous with soccer\u2019s biggest event, after her global hit \u2018Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)\u2019 became the official song of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and following her long-term relationship with Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqu\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Many argue that it is the best soccer-related song ever made, but Shakira is back with another song for this year\u2019s World Cup, titled \u2018Dai Dai\u2019, featuring afrobeats star Burna Boy.<\/p>\n
She is also slated to appear in the World Cup final half-time show on July 19, alongside Madonna and BTS.<\/p>\n
But as the 49-year-old is now back in the limelight, the public is only just realizing who her boyfriend is.<\/p>\n
Shakira has been in a high-profile relationship without many knowing. Credit: Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images for Live Nation<\/p>\n
Shakira\u2019s boyfriend and their 15-year age gap
\nA sense of intrigue was created when people realised that Shakira was reportedly dating actor Lucien Laviscount, who, at 34, is 15 years her junior.<\/p>\n
The Brit is best known for portraying Alfie in the Netflix hit series Emily in Paris, which is one of the platform\u2019s most successful original series.<\/p>\n
Shakira and Laviscount were first linked after the latter appeared in her music video for \u2018Punteria\u2019 in 2024, where they got up close and personal.<\/p>\n
The singer would only confirm the relationship in early 2026 in a public appearance together, years after being seen eating dinner together in New York.<\/p>\n
While they appeared on each other\u2019s social media accounts, Shakira only confirmed the whispers in February this year.<\/p>\n
Despite appearing in public numerous times together, the \u2018Hips Don\u2019t Lie\u2019 singer cast doubt over their relationship in an interview with The Times in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo romance for me for now. There\u2019s no space or time in my life for that. My plate is quite full. My kids are my priority, and my career,\u201d she claimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrangely enough, I\u2019m in love with my career as I\u2019ve never been in my life,\u201d Shakira stated, adding: \u201cI\u2019m enjoying my time alone as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucien Laviscount and Shakira made their relationship official in early 2026. Credit: Instagram\/its_lucien<\/p>\n
Shakira\u2019s past relationships
\nThe Latin artist had a decade-long relationship with Antonio de la Rua, who is also her business manager.<\/p>\n
He would sue the artist after their 2011 break-up for $250 million, after he left his career as a publicist to work with her.<\/p>\n
But the Colombian artist\u2019s most well-known relationship was that with former Barcelona and Spain defender, Gerard Piqu\u00e9, who was 10 years her junior.<\/p>\n
The pair met while filming the music video for \u2018Waka Waka\u2019 and started dating in the months after it was released.<\/p>\n
They never married, but the stars have two children together \u2013 sons Milan and Sasha.<\/p>\n
Shakira and Piqu\u00e9 split up in 2022, following allegations of infidelity on Piqu\u00e9\u2019s part, which prompted his ex-partner to release several diss tracks aimed at him.<\/p>\n
She would later say that her responsibilities as a mom helped her through the struggles of a public breakup,<\/p>\n
Delving into the details of the break-up to The Times, she admitted it was her \u201cdarkest moment,\u201d explaining: \u201cI\u2019ve been through so much pain, but it has made me perhaps in an unforeseen way a wiser person \u2013 or stronger, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite rumors of Piqu\u00e9 being unfaithful and supposed diss tracks aimed at him, Shakira claimed there is no bad blood, telling the publication: \u201cI will always have that gratitude in my heart for the father of my kids and [for] turning me into the mother that I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shakira may be one of the most recognizable names in pop culture, but fans are only just realizing who her boyfriend is. The Colombian megastar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viral-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11740,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11738\/revisions\/11740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralscontent.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}