Shakira splits with her boyfriend of 11 years

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Aw, this is sad news. Shakira and her boyfriend of 11 years, Antonio de la Rue, have broken up. Shakira announced the split in an open letter on her blog (read the full open letter here). Apparently, she and Antonio split over the summer as part of some kind of trial separation – or, as Shakira says, “a mutual decision to take time apart from our romantic relationship.” So fancy! Even though this is slightly surprising considering how long they’ve been together, there has been some gossip about a breakup for several months. People noticed that Shakira and Antonio were rarely together… and now we know why:

Shakira’s hips don’t lie, and neither does her heart. The Colombian singer, 33, revealed on her blog Monday that she and beau Antonio de la Rue called it quits last summer after 11 years of dating.

“Since August 2010, we made a mutual decision to take time apart from our romantic relationship,” she wrote. “Throughout this time we have continued to work together hand in hand, have remained close and have kept the details absolutely private until now.”

However, Shakira, who called her romance with the investment banker “the most wonderful years of our lives” hinted that they could reconcile in the future.

“We view this period of separation as temporary and as a time of individual growth as we continue to be partners in our business and professional lives,” she wrote. “Our friendship and understanding of one another is unwavering and indestructible.”

Adds an insider, “There was no big drama, it’s just one of those things where they had been together a long time and realized they were more friends and business partners than lovers. It’s sad, but they could get back together. They just needed a break.”

[From Us Weekly]

I’ve never really paid attention to Antonio, but now that I’ve actually looked up photos of him, can I point out something? He looks like the Latin Matthew Settle. Right? Matthew Settle is hot, so I’m down with the resemblance.

Anyway, sadness for Shakira and Antonio. They’ll bounce back, though. Separately.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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29 Responses to “Shakira splits with her boyfriend of 11 years”

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  1. e says:

    There was a lot of gossip going around when she did that video with Nadal.

  2. Jacq says:

    Better to be broken up with your boyfriend of eleven years, than to be divorcing your husband of one year. Meh, who’s next? I’m bored….

  3. mln76 says:

    I remember that gossip about Nadal but I watch tennis alot and his girlfriend is at most games(not that that’s a guarantee that he is faithful).And I believe even the game she attended the girlfriend was sitting with her. I think they really may have been just friends.

  4. KatScorp says:

    When I first saw the headline my jaw dropped and my eyebrows hit the ceiling. Didn’t see it coming and as Shakira’a Sale El Sol Tour began just after the separation is said to have happened, I feel a little amazed that she could smile and have so much energy while promoting “Loca” and the concerts.

    Antonio isn’t very popular with Shakira fans; there is a common opinion that Shakira can “do better”. I don’t have anything against him, myself, but he’s not in my handsome list.

    Still, not only had they been together for 11 years… but Shakira had been talking a lot about how eager she was to start a family. She truly seemed to be looking forward to it and spoke about the SES tour being one last thing she “owed” herself before she had children – “it would be impractical to bellydance 8 months pregnant” (Cosmo interview).

    Seem to come out of nowhere. There were pictures of Shakira and Antonio kissing in November, but I think that a latin gossip show leaked the news about the separation, forcing Shakira’s hand into the blog post.

  5. e says:

    I am not sure that anything was going on with them either. I think they probably are just friends but who knows. Maybe he loves his girlfriend and had a quick hook up with Shakira. I don’t know how any of these singers and athletes manage to stay faithful…there are too many opportunities to slip.

  6. guesty says:

    this is amicable until antonio gets a new piece…& if he manages her $$$$ girl better be on alert.

  7. mln76 says:

    Better to be broken up with your boyfriend of eleven years,than to be divorcing your husband of one year.

    Eh sorry but that is an insensitive statement. If you’ve been with someone for 11 years you are as good as married without the piece of paper.

  8. KatScorp says:

    No Shakira fan I’m aware of believes the Raphiel Nadar thing; we think it was total tabloid fabrication on the part of a Spanish rag. But some fans did believe she spent the night with Gerard Pique (some athlete, I don’t know or care), although it happened after the separation began, so it isn’t really a big deal anymore I suppose.

    Her fans are freaking out on the web. Claims of “I no longer believe in love triumphing” and “nooooo say it aint so!!!11!”. I really shouldn’t giggle; some are getting hysterical.

    Pics of Shakira and Antonio in November: http://www.shakiragallery.com/album/details/5365 She looks miserable in a few.

  9. Crash2GO2 says:

    Love the photo of the Dane. Almost looks like my Crashing Boy.

  10. tapioca says:

    “But some fans did believe she spent the night with Gerard Pique (some athlete, I don’t know or care)”.

    You should care – he’s hot! He’s a Spanish soccer player and looks like a 3rd(4th?) Hemsworth brother.

    Can she “do better”? My cynical side would suggest that since her last english-language album tanked (by her standards) we’re going to see her trawling for an A-list replacement in time for the next record…

  11. Nanea says:

    Somehow this split doesn’t come as a surprise to me.

    Wasn’t there talk at one time that AdlR had someone(s) on the side, and wasn’t there a blind item somewhere about the girlfriend spending money to buy up the agencies’ photos?

    And as to Shaki going on tour without people noticing anything about a break-up, she’s a true performer, and I’m pretty sure she’d try to give 100%, no matter how she feels inside.

  12. Bubbling says:

    @ crash YES, beautiful!!!
    I phuckin HATE hearing about brake ups, it really crushes me, don’t know why…how pathetic, I know

  13. Sadie says:

    @ mln, ‘Eh sorry but that is an insensitive statement. If you’ve been with someone for 11 years you are as good as married without the piece of paper.’

    Sacrilege alert!
    It’s sad how some still fool themselves that a long term relationship is just like marriage. IT IS NOT.

  14. Bodhi says:

    Maybe thats why she dropped all that weight…

  15. Dudette says:

    I think she just fell out of love with him. There are photos of them from early December and the body language was not good. He seemed keen and she didn’t. To be honest I think there was more to the Nadal stories than meets the eye, they were in a lot of different countries at the same time together. Could be mere coincidence but then when Shakira says things like the video she did with Nadal upset her boyfriend, is it any wonder the rumors were rampant. Nadal’s a bit of a homebody but there’s no denying their chemistry was seriously hot.

    She seems like a good egg, I’ve always liked that she’s this global performer and big time philanthropist and yet seems to live a pretty tabloid-free life. She’ll definitely bounce back and probably for the better.

  16. mln76 says:

    @Sadie I just think people have different values. I don’t think everyone wants to get married, or that every married couple is more committed to each other or in love than every unmarried couple. I personally have never been interested in getting married. I have friends who are married who did so for such deep reasons as immigration, insurance, and gifts each of whom is still married a decade later. I have friends who married total jerks who left them broke and miserable eventhough they had the traditional church wedding. I also have friends who have been in long term relationships and live together as “married” couples have children, own homes together etc but just don’t see the point in a changing a good thing with a piece of paper.
    What makes a relationship is communication,history,respect,passion, and commitment with or without the ceremony.

  17. Elfie says:

    Someone said Pique?? Pique for HGF??? Please?!

  18. elina says:

    so have you seen her videos and performances with Alejandro Sanz (hot Spanish singer) ? HOT! WAY HOT! People have always thought they have something going on, check out the video for “La Tortura” yeah….thats right.

  19. kiki says:

    @min76, thank you. Being married doesn’t make a relationship any better as long as both people know the other is fully committed.

  20. Runs with Scissors says:

    “Better to be broken up with your boyfriend of eleven years, than to be divorcing your husband of one year.”

    Funny, I read that as, ‘at least she isn’t someone who was married a year and already got a divorce, like it was nothing…’

  21. Iggles says:

    Runs with Scissors – So true. When i broke up with my longterm boyfriend I was GLAD we never got engaged or married.

    It bugs me when people have been together for years, get married, then divorced in a year. They had to know there was problems before divorcing.

  22. Jeri says:

    Ideally marriage shows you are in it for the long haul and willing to work to make the relationship work. A public statement of love and commitment.

    Doesn’t always work this way but the sentiment is nice.

  23. Ferguson. says:

    His name is “Antonio de la RUA” and he is the son of one of my ex-presidents (I’m argentinian), who, by the way, is a crazy son of a bitch.

    I’ve never liked Antonio, just because of his father… I know that’s not fair, but it’s the way I’ve always seen him.

    That being said, I’m sad for the breakup, you could tell they really loved each other (or maybe not?).

    Anyway, wish them the best -coming from me, that’s saying A LOT-

  24. Stubbylove says:

    Shakira is 33 years old???? I thought she was in her mid-20’s at the most! She’s always seemed like a nice person and she’s an excellent entertainer. I’m sorry for her heartache but better now than later.

  25. apsutter says:

    This is really really sad and weird because I was listening to Shakira on the way home and I was thinking her love song to him was really beautiful. Also, when you’ve been with someone as long as they were together its basically no different than being married. The only thing they didnt have was a marriage certificate. I’m pretty damn sure that they have shared assets and money and I’m willing to bet that all their insurance policies list one another as the beneficiary. My boyfriend and I have been together for 8 years and literally the only thing we dont have is a certificate of marriage. Everything else is shared and my life insurance policies go to him in the event of an accident.

    Anyways, this is super sad and the ending of a longterm relationship is always the death of a love 🙁

  26. lucy2 says:

    Don’t know anything about their relationship, but after 11 years together, that’s sad it didn’t work out. Maybe she was getting to a point of wanting a family, and he didn’t?
    Not a fan of her voice, but every once in a while see a small mention of her charitable work, which sounds extensive.

  27. Matt says:

    @ Sadie, not everyone needs a piece of paper or an expensive ring to validate their relationship.

  28. crtb says:

    Better to be broken up with your boyfriend of eleven years, than to be divorcing your husband of one year.

    Better to be divorcing your husband of eleven years, than to breaking up with a live-in.

  29. Zzzzzzzzzz says:

    It sounds callous to say but I’m not surprised by this. The second I saw the Gypsy video with Rafael Nadal, I knew this relationship would hit the skids. That video was something else! The chemistry was so very obvious and felt all too real for comfort. Of course the breakdown of the relationship was probably about much more than that but I can’t imagine the video helped.