Shakira experienced 'darkest hours' of her life after devastating split from Gerard Piqué

express.co.uk:

Shakira has explained that the "private details" of her break-up are too "raw" to share at the moment.However, she has been more open about the therapy she has been administering to herself ever since."I think [music is] the best medicine, and along with the love of my family and my kids that sustains me, music and writing music is definitely one of those tools."It's one of the few tools I have for survival in extreme conditions," she added to Elle magazine.Shakira revealed that she'd sacrificed time that could have been spent on her career to devote herself to the relationship with Gerard.She told of how she'd given up her "nomadic" lifestyle, which had included constant touring and charity trips helping to build schools in impoverished parts of her native Colombia.When she fell for him back in 2010, she opted to take a step back from her career and move to Barcelona to support his sporting career.She describes this choice as a "sacrifice of love", telling of how she vowed to be present in the lives of the couple's two children.She and Gerard had first hit it off after he appeared in her music video, 'Waka Waka', which was released for the football World Cup in 2010.During their relationship, Shakira gave birth to two boys - nine-year-old Milan and seven-year-old Sasha.She has been vocal about her adoration of them, saying that they too, like music, have been her "medicine".However, Gerard is now in a new relationship with a PR girl he met when they worked together on events for his sports investment company Kosmos.The pair were recently seen attending his best friend's wedding together on the Costa Brava.Shakira feels she has been left bereft after their split in June, which took place after 12 years together.However,.