Shakira Splits with Boyfriend After 11 Years

Shakira in Nov. 2010: INFDaily.com.

Sources tell us why it happened.

Shakira is typically very private about her private life, but Monday she announced that she and boyfriend Antonio de la Rue have split after more than a decade together. How did Shakira keep her breakup a secret for so long? We know some of what went down...

On January 10, Shakira made a lengthy statement on her blog regarding her split from Antonio de la Rue that included this:

"Since August 2010, we made a mutual decision to take time apart from our romantic relationship. Throughout this time we have continued to work together hand in hand, have remained close and have kept the details absolutely private until now."

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How does an international pop star keep the details of her separation locked down for five months? We know. A source who knows the singer told me recently that Shakira is a super control-freak and will do or say whatever it takes to get her way. One account from awhile back suggests the singer actually made a grown man cry in a business meeting because her demands were that abusive...and based on what another Shakira source says, the 33-year-old treated her romance with Antonio de la Rue just like she treated work relationships: "[...] It's just one of those things where they had been together a long time and realized they were more friends and business partners than lovers."

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So as a performer, Shakira looks beautiful and innocent -- but our insiders tell us when it comes to work, she's kind of a monster. Meanwhile the singer went on to tell her blog readers that deep down, she believes she and Antonio de la Rue will reconcile. "We view this period of separation as temporary and as a time of individual growth as we continue to be partners in our business and professional lives," Shakira wrote. Hear that? For her it's all about her business...because nothing says I love you like a starchy blog statement.

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