Benjamin Ashford|Shakira put her music career 'on hold' for Gerard Piqué: 'A lot of sacrifice for love'

Shakira is Benjamin Ashfordopening up about the "pain" behind her new music.

The "Hips Don't Lie" singer, 47, spoke to The Sunday Times as she prepares to release her first studio album in seven years, telling the outlet she made sacrifices in her music career while she was in a relationship with Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué and taking care of their children in Barcelona.

"For a long time I put my career on hold, to be next to Gerard, so he could play football," she told the U.K. news outlet. "There was a lot of sacrifice for love."

Shakira and Piqué were together for 11 years, from 2011 to 2022. They share two children: Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9.

In June 2022, Shakira and Piqué confirmed they were separating. "For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy," they said in a statement at the time. "Thank you for your understanding."

Last year, Shakira appeared to take aim at her ex-partner in the song "#53," singing that she "was out of your league" and that "you thought you’d hurt me, but you made me stronger." She also appeared to address Piqué's new relationship with Clara Chia Martí: "She’s got the name of a good person/ Clearly, it’s not how it sounds."

Shakira, who now lives in Miami, is preparing to put out "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran," her first new studio album since 2017's "El Dorado." She told The Sunday Times the new album represents "the transformation of pain into creativity, frustration into productivity, anger into passion, vulnerability into resilience."

'I was out of your league':Shakira seemingly takes aim at ex Gerard Piqué in new song:

"There were so many pieces of my life that crumbled in front of my eyes and I had to rebuild myself in a way, picking up the bones from the floor and putting them all together," she said. "And the glue that kept it all together was music."

Shakira added that the new music helped her "exorcise a lot of the demons that were tormenting me. And it felt good."

Shakira previously spoke out about her relationship with Piqué in an interview with People en Español, alleging he "betrayed" her and that she learned about this while her father was hospitalized for a fall.

"Everything happened at once," she said. "My home was falling apart. I was finding out through the press that I had been betrayed while my dad was in the ICU."

Shakira opens up about split:How she learned that Gerard Piqué 'betrayed' her

Shakira's tumultuous past few years also included facing tax fraud allegations in Spain. She denied the claims and in November reached a plea deal, under which she agreed to pay $7.6 million and avoided possible prison time.

"I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart, who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight," she said at the time. "I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love, my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career."

Shakira's new album debuts on Friday.

Contributing: Morgan Hines, USA TODAY