Chris Martin knows how to be there for his friends — just ask Shakira.
The "Hips Don't Lie" singer, 47, celebrated the Coldplay frontman's empathy in his Rolling Stone profile published on Thursday, December 19. Shakira gushed about how supportive Martin, 47, was as she went through her public split from ex Gerard Piqué (with whom she shares two children).
"He was there for me when I got separated and was heartbroken," Shakira said of her longtime friend (who went through his own public split from ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow when the pair "consciously uncoupled" in 2014). "He was checking in every day to see how I was doing, sending me words of support and strength and wisdom."
Shakira attends The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion' at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024 in New York City. In December 2024, Shakira revealed pal Chris Martin helped her… More Cindy Ord/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
"I see him as a person who sees life through a different lens, who's sensitive to other people's needs and very empathetic, very empathetic," Shakira gushed. The support came at an "incredibly difficult" time for the songstress, who briefly opened up about the split in a 2022 interview with Elle magazine.
"This is really hard to talk about personally, especially as this is the first time I've ever addressed this situation in an interview," the mom-of-two said. "I've remained quiet and just tried to process it all. … 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."
The "Try Everything" singer explained it was not only "tough" for her, but also her children Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9, whom she shares with Piqué.
She called navigating the changes amid the publicity "incredibly difficult," adding, "I've tried to conceal the situation in front of my kids. I try to do it and to protect them, because that's my number one mission in life. But then they hear things in school from their friends or they come across some disagreeable, unpleasant news online, and it just affects them, you know?"
Shakira and Chris Martin perform during the Global Citizen Festival at the Barclaycard Arena on July 6, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Shakira credited her longtime friend Martin for helping her through her split from ex… More Christian Augustin/Getty Images
Shakira and Piqué announced their separation with a joint statement in June 2022. "We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the wellbeing of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect their privacy," the statement read.
Not long after, Piqué moved on with Clara Chia Martí, and Shakira told People en Español that she felt "betrayed" over speculation that her ex had been unfaithful while she was dealing with the hospitalization of her father, William Mebarak Chadid. At the time, Shakira said she thought she "wasn't going to survive" the strain, telling the publication, "I was finding out through the press that I had been betrayed while my dad was in the ICU."
The split inspired Shakira's song "Monotonía" and her record-breaking diss track with Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap, known as "BZRP Music Sessions #53" or "Out of Your League."
On "Out of Your League," Shakira says she is "worth two 22-year-olds" — referring to the young age of Piqué's new girlfriend Martí — and suggests her ex was swapping "a Ferrari for a [Renault] Twingo" and a "Rolex for a Casio." The four-minute diss track was watched more than 63 million times in 24 hours, making it the most-watched Latin song, per BBC.
