Shakira and Gerard Piqué face Barcelona family court over transatlantic visitation terms
The Colombian singer asked a judge on 6 October 2026 to require her former partner to travel to Miami during short vacations rather than having their sons fly to Spain.
Court hearing in Barcelona
Shakira and Gerard Piqué appeared before Barcelona's Court of First Instance No. 18 on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, to address a legal dispute over the visitation arrangements for their two sons. The 49-year-old Colombian singer arrived at the Ciutat de la Justícia around 10:00 AM after taking a morning flight from Madrid. Piqué, 39, attended the family court session in person alongside his attorney, Ramón Tamborero, a family law professor at the University of Barcelona and ISDE. Shakira was accompanied by Carmen Varela, a family law attorney with 34 years of experience in cross-border custody disputes. Both parties spent the entire morning presenting arguments to the judge regarding the logistical obligations established in their original parental agreement.
Terms of the visitation request
The legal action initiated by Shakira focuses specifically on the travel burden placed on 13-year-old Milan and 11-year-old Sasha, who reside with her in Florida. Her legal team distributed an official statement titled "Shakira asks that the effort not fall solely on the children," outlining the specific modifications requested by the mother. The filing proposes that Piqué travel to Miami during short school vacation periods instead of requiring the boys to fly across the Atlantic for short stays. Shakira's representatives noted that avoiding short-stay transatlantic flights protects the emotional, physical, and academic welfare of the children by preserving their daily routines and eliminating time-zone disruptions.
The request does not intend to reduce the time that the children share with their father. Its objective is that the effort of travelling between Miami and Barcelona does not fall solely on them, but is shared.
- Parties conclude initial separation negotiations in Barcelona
- Separation and custody agreement ratified before Barcelona judge
- Milan and Sasha relocate from Barcelona to Miami with Shakira
- Shakira and Piqué attend Barcelona court hearing on visitation logistics
- Shakira scheduled to conclude extended concert dates in Madrid
Background of the 2022 separation
The hearing reopens the logistics settled during the couple's split in 2022 after twelve years together. Following marathon talks that concluded late on 7 November 2022, both parents formalized a separation agreement that was formally ratified before a Barcelona judge in December 2022. That initial pact permitted Shakira to relocate the children from Spain to Miami, a move completed in April 2023, while granting Piqué defined visitation periods. The current hearing does not challenge the distribution of parenting days, but addresses where visits take place during shorter holiday breaks from the children's American school calendar.
Last-minute negotiations and tour schedule
Prior to Tuesday's formal proceedings, the legal teams attempted to reach an out-of-court settlement with the assistance of the presiding judge and the public prosecutor. Tamborero stated that negotiations continued until the final moments before the hearing, though the parties ultimately failed to find common ground. The court date was arranged with strict confidentiality and coincided with a brief pause in Shakira's European concert residency in Madrid for her "Las mujeres ya no lloran" tour. The singer travelled back to Spain between performances and added a concert date in Madrid scheduled for 12 October 2026.
