Gerard Piqué and global pop icon Shakira are having a legal dispute over their children’s holiday.
The long-running legal saga between former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué and Colombian pop icon Shakira has resumed, with the former couple returning to a Catalan courtroom to contest the transatlantic holiday travel arrangements for their two children.
The estranged couple appeared at the Court of First Instance number 18 at the Barcelona City of Justice on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
Despite the option to delegate the proceedings entirely to their respective legal teams, both Shakira and Piqué chose to attend the hearing in person.
Reports from the Spanish press described the atmosphere inside the courtroom as professional but undeniably tense, as negotiations between the two parties previously failed to yield a private settlement.
The current friction stems from the logistical realities of the custody agreement ratified following their separation.
The couple officially announced their separation in June 2022, eventually finalising an agreement in December of that year.
The settlement granted Shakira primary physical custody and permitted her to relocate to the United States. In April 2023, the singer moved to Miami, Florida, with their two sons, Milan, 13, and Sasha, 11.
Piqué retained the right to spend several days each month and the majority of the school holidays with his children.
Revising the travel routine
Four years after their initial separation, the practical execution of that holiday schedule has prompted Shakira’s new legal challenge.
The singer has petitioned the judge to modify the existing visitation structure to ease the physical toll of long-haul travel on the minors.
Shakira argues that the children are currently shouldering the entire burden of flying between Miami and Barcelona during their short school breaks.
According to a statement from her legal representatives, Shakira is not attempting to reduce the amount of time Milan and Sasha spend with their father.
Instead, she is demanding a shared logistical responsibility. The Colombian artist has proposed that Piqué should occasionally travel to Miami during the shorter holiday periods, allowing the boys to remain in their home environment.
Her legal team maintains that eliminating consecutive transatlantic flights will prevent severe jet lag and protect the children’s academic, social, and family routines in the United States.