As Shakira says she’s ‘not opposed to having special friends’, a look at the stars, including Carol Vorderman, who have decided to ditch conventional relationships to date multiple people

Shakira made the bold admission that she was ‘not against having friends’ when she gave insight into her love life in an interview this week.

The singer, 47, split from her husband Gerard Pique two years ago and has been linked to a number of stars including Tom Cruise and Lewis Hamilton following her split.

Shakira is the latest star to speak openly about her dating life, as she admitted: ‘I like men, that’s the problem.’

Here we look at the other celebrities who have spoken about their unconventional takes on romance, including Carol Vorderman, who has admitted that she has ‘five special friends’.

Shakira

The singer, 47, and the Spanish football star, 37, were together for 11 years and welcomed two children – sons Milan, 11, and Sasha, nine – before splitting in 2022; seen in 2015

Since parting ways with Gerard, Shakira has been romantically linked to the likes of A-list actor Tom Cruise (pictured last May) and racing champion Lewis Hamilton

Most recently, Shakira was spotted with Emily In Paris hunk Lucien Laviscount, 32, who starred in the sexy music video for her song Puntería in March; seen in March

Shakira said she’s not quite ready for a “formal relationship” but suggested she might be open to an affair – two years after her split from longtime partner Gerard.

The Colombian hitmaker and the Spanish football star, 37, were together for 11 years and welcomed two children – sons Milan, 11, and Sasha, nine – before splitting in 2022.

Gerard was rumored to have cheated on Shakira with his current girlfriend and former employee Clara Chia, 26.

‘I don’t think about that. What room do I have for a man now?’ she said Rolling stone this week when asked about her dating life.

She continued, “What can I tell you, I love men. That is the problem. I shouldn’t like them, despite everything that’s happened to me, but imagine how much I love men, that I still like them.’

Since parting ways with Gerard, Shakira has been romantically linked to the likes of A-list actor Tom Cruise and racing champion Lewis Hamilton.

Most recently, Shakira was spotted with Emily In Paris hunk Lucien Laviscount, 32, who starred in the sexy music video for her song Puntería in March.

A source told DailyMail.com in April that she and Lucien are “seeing each other, but not very involved yet.”

But Shakira emphasized to Rolling Stone that she is not interested in a relationship at the moment because her main focus is the well-being of her children.

“I think my children need to be well prepared for that, and their emotional and psychological well-being is the priority,” the She Wolf hitmaker admitted.

But she seemed to hint that she is not against a future affair. “Hey, I’m not against having friends,” the mother of two told the outlet.

Shakira also stated that she has her “sexy back.”

“More swag. I got my swag back. And I got my sexy back,” she said.

Carol Vorderman

Carol Vorderman has been very open about the fact that she has five ‘special friends’ with whom she is in a relationship

Carol Vorderman has been very open about the fact that she has five ‘special friends’ that she is in relationships with – although she has previously said that she ‘doesn’t do one night stands’.

In an interview with You magazine last year, the TV presenter, 63, said it all works very well because he doesn’t want to be in love and is not a jealous person.

Carol said her lovers are all single – and she said she wouldn’t mind if one of her lovers fell for someone else and moved on.

One thing that has certainly connected Carol with a younger generation is her attitude towards dating and her willingness to talk about it openly, if not in salacious detail.

“Oh yes, yes, my ‘special friends,’” she said. ‘I will continue with that system and it works very well.’

There are five. She said: ‘One has been a friend for 11 years, one for 7 years. My children [Katie, 33, and Cameron, 27]know most of them.”

Carol admitted that she enjoys the independence and freedom the setup gives her, saying it’s not a problem if her partners want more intimacy than it offers, “as long as you’re honest and having a good time.”

Everyone involved is single – she adheres to the ‘do no harm’ principle – and if you meet someone else, that’s fine.

She continued, “I’m not a jealous person and I’m happy when my friends are happy, whether they’re ‘special friends’ or not.

‘The purpose of my life is to be happy, not to be in love. I just find people interesting and life interesting.

‘And you can get to a stage where you choose which bits you like. You can’t do that when you’re thirty, because you’re making your way in your career, you’re beholden to bosses and all that kind of stuff. But when you’re sixty…

Carol has been single since splitting from journalist Des Kelly in 2007, having been married twice, first to Christopher Mather from 1985 to 1986 and then to second husband Patrick King from 1990 to 2000 – the father of her two children.

Fifth Harmony star Lauren Jauregui

Lauren Jauregui, 27, revealed she is in the space of ‘exploring polyamory’ after becoming single again following her split from girlfriend Sasha Mallory

Last month, Fifth Harmony star Lauren Jauregui revealed last month that she wanted to expand her sexual relationships and possibly add some polyamory to her resume in the wake of her split from girlfriend Sasha Mallory.

During a performance at the 2 D**es and a Mic podcaststarring Rachel Scanlon and McKenzie Goodwin, the pop star admitted that she’s “kind of in the space to explore polyamory a little bit.”

“I don’t really know what it’s going to look like in the end, I just know that I’m in a space right now at this point in my life where I want to belong to myself first and foremost, and then I want to leave room for everyone who me and me to create boundaries between us, whether it’s like, “Oh no, we’re just platonic,” or “There’s some kind of vibe here, we can explore that and it won.” “It doesn’t necessarily affect the fact that I’m exploring something with someone else,” she explained.

She further clarified that she is “super communicative” and would “never like to put anyone in that scenario who doesn’t want to be in that scenario,” before adding, “I just feel really free right now, and I do.” I don’t feel like this monogamous, low-key energy is really for me.’

Bella Thorne

Bella Thorne publicly feuded with rapper Mod Sun [pictured] and influencer Tana Mongeau from 2017 to 2019

The Famous in Love star admitted that many of her partners didn’t understand polyamory at first, but often realize it’s ‘quite beautiful’ (pictured with ex Tana in 2018)

Bella is now engaged to entrepreneur and Bad Vegan producer Mark Emms. The couple met in 2022 on the beach of Ibiza at Cara Delevingne’s birthday party

Bella Thorne publicly feuded with rapper Mod Sun and influencer Tana Mongeau from 2017 to 2019.

She told Cosmopolitan at the time: “If you date a boy and a girl at the same time, those people really have to fuck each other. Or literally fuck each other. You know what I mean? It’s like it really depends on two people finding the right mesh.

“If it works, you can spend a weekend with two people and all hang out and have fun and smoke and share stories late at night.” It’s kind of fun to act like kids that way.

She continued, “It’s a really fun experience and I’ve been able to capture that a few times, and I just love that idea. I like to love two people at the same time. I like to share stories with three people in one room. So I always try to find ways to make it work because I think it would really make me happy.”

The Famous in Love star admitted that many of her partners didn’t understand polyamory at first, but often realize it’s “quite beautiful” after she explains the process to them.

Bella is now engaged to entrepreneur and Bad Vegan producer Mark Emms.

The couple met in 2022 on the beach of Ibiza at Cara Delevingne’s birthday party.