Shakira says that even though "life is a bitch," it's still worth living.
The 49-year-old Colombian superstar made the remark while speaking to People, while seemingly referencing her headline-heavy split from Gerard Piqué and her long-running tax dispute in Spain.
After what she describes as a difficult stretch that included legal battles and major personal change, she said she has come to recognize her own resilience and strength.
“I always thought that I was weaker than what life proved me to be,” she told the magazine near the six-minute mark in the video linked here. “Through those challenging moments, I discovered how resilient we all are. And I truly admire so many women that just have to push forward every day, push forward through hardship or through whatever life throws at them.
“I think us women, we just carry the world on our shoulders. I mean, we rebuilt Europe after the second World War. We rule the world like Beyoncé says.”
In describing what carried her through, Shakira says she leaned heavily on her personal reflections about family, motherhood, and support systems.
“I think motherhood makes you strong,” said Shakira, who shares sons Milan, 13, and Sasha, 11, with Piqué. “I feel that the moment I became a mother, I saw life through a different perspective. They are true teachers. I learned so much from them every day."
She continued, “When your world collapses and you have to get up and pay the bills, and still provide for your family, and still prepare breakfast, and take your kids to school—life needs to go on because you have the responsibility to watch after two human beings. Seeing my kids also overcome those difficulties, that also fills my heart.”
"Life is beautiful in spite of all the pain that we all go through. It is what it is,” she said. “Like they say: ‘Life is a bitch,’ but it's so worth living it, you know?"
Elsewhere in the interview, she added, “Behind every experience in life, there's always a lesson that we learn. And we have to be grateful for all those lessons. Even for the people that leave you with scars because they just make us better, and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” with my career and my life.
Her reflection comes not long after a judge ruled that Spain's tax authorities unfairly pursued her over alleged fraud claims.
Shakira is also preparing to continue her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, with a second U.S. leg beginning June 13 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. She is also set to co-headline the first-ever FIFA World Cup final halftime show on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey alongside Madonna and BTS.
