Quote of the day by Hips Don’t Lie singer, Shakira: ‘I have gone through denial, rage, grief, pain, deception, hope’; iconic singer after facing betrayal from partner

Heartbreak is often spoken about in simple terms, as if it moves neatly from sadness to healing. Real life rarely works that way. Emotions collide, repeat themselves, and arrive in unexpected waves. Few public figures have described that inner chaos as honestly as global superstar Shakira. In a powerful reflection about pain, identity, and creativity, the Colombian icon explained how music became the space where she could process emotions that felt impossible to understand while living through them in real time.

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, popularly known as Shakira, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, dancer, and record producer widely referred to as the Queen of Latin Music. With four Grammy Awards, 15 Latin Grammy Awards, and a catalogue of global hits including Hips Don’t Lie, Whenever, Wherever, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), She Wolf, La Tortura, Beautiful Liar, Chantaje, and Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, she remains one of the world’s best-selling and most influential artists.

In an interview with People en Español, Shakira spoke about turning personal pain into music following the public end of her relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué. She said, “I have gone through denial, rage, pain, acceptance, grief, hope, deception, hope again, excitement." She explained that she experienced so many emotions and feelings, often mixed together in ways that did not seem able to coexist within her, and that she was only able to untangle them through her songs in order to understand herself better. She said her goal was never to explain or justify herself, but to understand herself and learn to tolerate herself with greater compassion.

Deeper meaning of her quote

The quote resonates because it rejects the myth that healing follows a straight line. Shakira lists emotions that seem contradictory: hope beside deception, excitement beside grief, acceptance beside rage. That is often how emotional recovery actually feels. People do not move through pain in perfect stages. They circle back, revisit old feelings, and experience multiple truths at once.

Her words also reveal the role of creativity as a tool for self-understanding. She does not describe songwriting as revenge or public explanation. Instead, she frames it as a private act of untangling emotions. Through music, she found language for feelings that initially felt too messy to name. Her comment about wanting to understand and tolerate herself is especially striking. It shifts the focus from controlling emotions to making room for them. Self-compassion becomes more important than appearing composed.

Context behind her words

The context behind the quote made it even more significant. Reportedly, Shakira and Gerard Piqué first met in June 2010 during the filming of the Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) music video, the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their relationship led to a family life in Barcelona, where they welcomed two sons, Milan in 2013 and Sasha in 2015. She learned of her partner's infidelity through media reports while dealing with her father's injury, who was in the ICU.


In June 2022, after 12 years together, they announced their separation in a joint statement. In the months that followed, Shakira channelled the experience into music, most notably through her collaboration with Argentine producer Bizarrap, BZRP Music Session #53, a release that drew global attention for its pointed lyrics about the breakup and its aftermath.

What makes her words endure is that they speak to anyone navigating loss, betrayal, reinvention, or identity shifts. The emotions may differ in detail, but the inner turbulence is universal. Sometimes clarity does not arrive through logic. Sometimes it arrives through expression.