Shakira Is Reportedly “Very Open” to Dating—But Nothing Too Serious, Please

Let it be known—Shakira is back on the market. After a (very public) split from ex Gerard Piqué, Us Weekly reports that the performer is “very open” to casually dating following their tumultuous breakup, which has played out in song and throughout Shakira’s openness to the press as of late.

“Shakira is doing better than she has in years,” a source told the publication. “She is acting like a new woman. Friends are so excited to see her back to her former self—in work and with friends.”

While the source noted that Shakira “isn’t ready for a relationship,” she “is very open to some casual dating.”

Shakira and Piqué ended their relationship in June 2022 after 11 years and two kids, sons Milan and Sasha. At the time of their split, “reports circulated that Shakira caught the soccer player having an affair,” Us Weekly reports. Just one month after their breakup, Piqué moved on with girlfriend Clara Chia Marti; he made it Instagram official with her in January 2023, shortly after Shakira released a track that seemingly threw shade at the couple.

“Shakira has a new light around her that she hasn’t had since before Piqué,” they said, adding that Shakira has been focusing on self-care through “meditation, yoga, and spending time with her friends.”

Shakira is currently gearing up to release her twelfth studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which comes out later this month. Its title translates to “women don’t cry anymore,” no doubt alluding to her breakup.

“Shakira has a lot on her plate,” the source told Us Weekly. “Her main priority is her kids and career. But she’s definitely optimistic about finding love again.”

Earlier this month, the singer opened up about how she prioritized her family over her own goals to accommodate his career. (He retired from FC Barcelona in November 2022.) “For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so he could play football,” she told The Sunday Times. “There was a lot of sacrifice for love.”

Now that her career is back in focus, that doesn’t necessarily mean that her love life hasn’t been a priority, too. Shakira was most recently linked to Miami Heat basketball player Jimmy Butler back in July of last year; a source told Us Weekly in September “that while things were progressing for the duo, Shakira wasn’t in a rush to jump into another relationship,” the outlet writes.