The Comeback of One of Latin Music Most Powerful Couple? Shakira and Ex Antonio de la Rúa Spark Rumors at LA Concert

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At Shakira's second Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran concert at the Kia Forum, the Colombian superstar quietly confirmed a rumor that had been swirling for months: Antonio de la Rúa, her former partner of over a decade and the man behind some of the most defining moments in her career, is back in the picture.

And he's not exactly laying low.

Wearing official tour credentials, De la Rúa was spotted backstage moving freely among crew and family, not as a guest, but as someone with authority. Even more surprising: his two youngest children, from a later relationship, were seen walking in with Shakira before the show, in a scene as intimate as it was unexpected. His eldest daughter had already appeared with the singer at a previous concert in Argentina.

The message is clear: Antonio de la Rúa is no longer part of Shakira's past. He's in her present.and possibly shaping her future.

A Love Story from Another Era

Shakira met Antonio de la Rúa in 2000 in Argentina, while promoting ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? He was the son of then-president Fernando de la Rúa. She was a rising global phenomenon. Despite their vastly different worlds, they clicked immediately.

Soon, De la Rúa became more than a romantic partner, he was her closest advisor. He was instrumental in steering her global expansion, playing a key role in albums like Laundry Service and Fijación Oral. Shakira even immortalized him in Día de Enero, singing: "I met you one day in January..."

They never married. But for a decade, they were inseparable. Partners in every sense.

The Day the Music Changed

The cracks started to show around 2010. Love and business, once their greatest strength, became a source of tension. In January 2011, Shakira publicly announced a "temporary separation," though they had already split privately months earlier.

But the true break came with Gerard Piqué.

In the summer of 2010, while filming Waka Waka for the FIFA World Cup, Shakira met the Spanish footballer. The spark was instant. By March 2011, she posted a photo of them on Twitter with the caption: "Meet my sunshine."

It was more than a new relationship. It was the public closing of a decade-long chapter with De la Rúa.

The fallout was emotional and legal. In 2012, Antonio filed a $100 million lawsuit against Shakira, claiming he had sacrificed his own career to build hers and was entitled to a share of her fortune.

She countered with accusations of financial misconduct, alleging misuse of corporate funds for personal expenses. The legal battle dragged on for over a year until, in 2013, a judge dismissed the case: there was no legal basis for his claims. The two walked away seemingly for good. No public contact. No reconciliation. Just silence.

The Comeback No One Saw Coming

But in recent months, whispers of De la Rúa's return began surfacing, particularly around behind-the-scenes meetings in Miami tied to the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour. Now, those rumors appear to be true.

On night two at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, fans captured photos and videos of Antonio wearing team credentials and walking backstage. His children entered the venue with Shakira a gesture impossible to ignore. This wasn't nostalgia. This was current.

And it's happening just as Shakira is plotting the next phase of her tour, including a possible European leg that would bring her back to Barcelona, the city where she built a home, had her children, and, ultimately, had her heart broken. It would be poetic justice!

What Does It Mean?

It's too soon (and too easy) to say this is a romantic reunion. Shakira has made it clear on stage and in interviews that she's single. But this is something else, a reconciliation of a different kind. One born of maturity. Of perspective. Of having lived through fire and emerging on the other side.

Shakira once said that "women don't cry anymore." But this tour proves something deeper: they remember, they grow, and sometimes, they forgive.

Antonio de la Rúa once gave her strategy and stability. And while their ending was public, painful, and litigious, his return, at her side, among her people, signals something rare in pop culture: peace.

Fans now eagerly await news of upcoming dates in Europe. But for those who've followed Shakira's journey from Bogotá to Barcelona and back again, the most surprising headline isn't about a setlist. It's this: Antonio de la Rúa is no longer part of her history. He's part of why Las mujeres ya no lloran.