Colombian pop superstar Shakira has broken her silence on her split with football star Gerard Pique, describing it as probably the "darkest hour" of her life as it happened while she was also facing the challenges of tax evasion allegations and concerns over her father who was in the intensive care unit.

Shakira, 45, and Pique, 35, surprised fans in June when they announced their separation. The former couple, who were not married, had been together for 12 years and have two sons – Milan, nine, and Sasha, seven.

"It's hard to talk about it, especially because I'm still going through it, and because I'm in the public eye and because our separation is not like a regular separation," Shakira said in an interview with Elle magazine. "And so it's been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult."

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Shakira said there was no place for her to hide with her children except in her own house, and even then, there were paparazzi camping outside her house round the clock.

"Honestly, the depiction in the local press here in Spain has been so hard to watch. And invasive for my kids," she said. "They don't deserve to feel observed or watched every second, photographed at school drop-off, or followed by paparazzi. They deserve a normal life."

The Try Everything (2016) singer did not address how her relationship with Pique fell apart, as she was reportedly surprised that the relationship was over.

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In August, Spanish media outlet Socialite released a video of the Barcelona player kissing 23-year-old student Clara Chia Marti at the Summerfest Cerdanya festival in Catalonia.

"I think that those details are somehow too private to share, at least at this very moment – everything is so raw and new," Shakira said. "I can only say that I put everything I had into this relationship and my family."