Montserrat Bernabéu, the mother-in-law that Shakira refers to in her new song

Shakira used to affectionately call Piqué's mother “my little mother-in-law” a sweet nickname that, far from disappearing, has changed radically since the breakup between the singer and the former Barcelona player.

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Her new song, BZRP Music Session #53, recorded with producer Bizarrap, is a no-holds-barred attack aimed at her former partner Gerard Piqué and his new flame Clara Chía. Shakira references her ex in a series of barbed lyrics throughout the song.

But Shakira hasn’t only attacked the Catalan footballer and his new partner. She also delivered a few words aimed at her ex-mother-in-law, Montserrat Bernabéu. The singer placed the figure of a witch on her balcony directly facing the home Piqué’s mother, an eminent doctor.

So who is the famous “mother-in-law” referred to in the song?

The perfect mother-in-law

Montserrat is someone who has always tried to remain in the background. With an impeccable career, she graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona, later specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Much of her career has been developed at the prestigious Institut Guttmann located in Badalona (Barcelona) in charge of the comprehensive rehabilitation of patients with brain damage, spinal cord injuries or any other neurological disorders. Head of the Brain Injury Unit from 1997 to 2018, she is currently co-director of the Institut Guttman Foundation.

The 60-year-old medic has been married for more than three decades to Joan Piqué, a Catalan lawyer and businessman. Marriage is a fundamental pillar in the life of the former Blaugrana player.

From love to hate

Her relationship with Shakira was always very good and for years they have boasted of their complicity in different public appearances. In fact, the artist called her “my mother-in-law.” But everything changed when her relationship with Gerard ended.

During Piqué's marriage to Shakira, she was highly complimentary about the Colombian. “She is a spectacular person, a simple woman with great values who also happens to be the second most important woman in show business. I find her a fascinating person,” she told Vogue magazine at the time.

But the fact that the ex-soccer player’s parents actively supported his “romance” with Clara Chía from the beginning, and welcomed the young Catalan with open arms and allegedly invited her to bathe in their pool, would have infuriated the singer. Feeling hurt and rejected, it’s little wonder she has now declared war on her ex-in-laws.

In the song, she sings the line: “You left my mother-in-law as a neighbor, with the press at the door and the debt in the Treasury...”. Since the singer and the footballer met in 2010, Montserrat has always tried to remain discreet in the background, so she won’t like to have the spotlight turned on her like this. It is the Latin song with the most views in the first 24 hours of release in the history of YouTube, having already clocked up 65 million views.

If revenge is a dish that is served cold, Shakira has the perfect ingredients to serve it on a silver, gold or platinum platter.