Five months after splitting up, Shakira and Gerard Piqué have reached an agreement over custody of their two sons, Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7. Shakira will be moving from Barcelona to Miami with the boys according to People.
“Our sole objective is to provide our children with the utmost security and protection and hope that they can continue with their lives in a safe and calm environment,” the ex-couple said in a statement to People magazine on Tuesday (November 8). “We appreciate that their privacy will be respected.”
According to El País, Shakira will serve as the sole legal guardian of the children, while Piqué will be the non-custodial parent. Piqué will have visitation rights whenever he would like to travel to Miami to see his sons. His travel costs will apparently be split by both parties.
“Both have made a great effort to reach an agreement and thus avoid a contentious procedure for the children. It was a red line for them,” Piqué’s lawyer, Ramón Tamborero, told El País. “Piqué has looked beyond his own interests, above all else. He has made a great sacrifice as a father, in exchange for accepting and preventing his children from having to prosecute their lives.”
It was reported that in September, Piqué left a custody meeting upset because negotiations between his lawyers and Shakira’s lawyers were not progressing. Around the same time, Shakira spoke to Elle magazine about the break-up, which was allegedly caused by Piqué’s infidelity.
“I just feel like this is all a bad dream and that I’m going to wake up at some point,” Shakira said. “But no, it’s real. And what’s also real is the disappointment to see something as sacred and as special as I thought was the relationship I had with my kids’ father and see that turned into something vulgarized and cheapened by the media. This is probably the darkest hour of my life.”