Gerard Piqué addresses split with Shakira for first time

Former Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué has broken his silence about his split from Shakira.

The couple shares two children and broke up last June, and the 46-year-old Shakira was reportedly not happy that the 36-year-old Piqué was out and about with new girlfriend Clara Chia Marti just three months later.

Eventually, stories insinuated that Piqué had cheated on Shakira with Marti.

Piqué spoke to Spanish outlet El País about where things stand now, saying he is “very happy.”

“I keep doing what I want,” he said, according to a translation published by E! News.

“The day I die, I will look back and hope I have always done what I wanted. I want to be faithful to myself. I’m not going to spend money cleaning up my image.

“The people that I love and care about are the ones who know me. The rest isn’t important to me.

“I spend my energy on being with my loved ones and giving them what I have. I’m very happy. There have been changes in my life and I have known how to preserve happiness.”

Piqué played for the Spanish national team as well as Manchester United and FC Barcelona, and is considered to be one of the best defensemen ever.

He said that his main priority is his children he shares with Shakira, sons Milan, 10, and Sasha, 8.

“It is about protecting them,” he said.

“That is the job of all parents with children. That is what I am focused on and that is my job as a father.”

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer spoke to Elle last year about the difficulty of going through such a public breakup with kids involved.

“It’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids,” she said.

“Incredibly difficult. I have paparazzi camping outside, in front of my house, 24/7. And there’s not a place where I can hide from them with my kids, except for my own house.

“You know, we can’t take a walk in the park like a regular family or go have an ice cream or do any activity without paparazzi following us. So it’s hard.”