‘It takes a lot of laughter’: Shakira opens up about keeping the romance alive and what Sєxy really means as she poses in knickers

She first confirmed she was dating Gerard Pique three years ago and the couple welcomed their first child into the world last January.

And Shakira has opened up about how she and the Spanish football player keep their relationship fresh.

The singer took part in an interview with Women’s Health magazine, and also graces the cover of its April issue

In the sultry cover pH๏τo, Shakira wears just a pink T-shirt and black knickers, showing off her toned tummy and legs.

She told the publication: ‘I think it takes—to keep it pᴀssionate in relationships—a lot of laughter and a lot of fun moments together. I think you have to have fun together, that’s essential.

‘But also affinity, you know. You have to be compatible. You have to—both of you—have to want it, have to really want the relationship to survive and to make it.’

She added: ‘I’m really happy where I am right now, with the person that I’m with right now. He seems to want the same things I want, and that’s very important

But Shakira, 37, isn’t of the mentality that date nights always need to be spent at fancy places and loves curling up on the sofa with her 27-year-old beau.

‘Lately, we’re watching Suits,’ she revealed. ‘He’s obsessed with Harvey Specter. He’s buying a bunch of suits. He’s under the influence.

‘I love to watch sitcoms, that’s my thing. Because, you know, life is so intense, my head is so intense sometimes, that for TV, I like it light. Light television please. 22 minutes of a few laughs and I’m good.’

The Colombian born beauty is as famed for her Sєx appeal as for her music, but for her, Sєxiness is not what’s on the outside but instead comes from within.

‘It takes a lot of laughter’: Shakira opens up about keeping the romance alive and what Sєxy really means as she poses in knickers

‘I never thought that someone would ask me, “how do you manage to be irresistibly Sєxy.” I laugh because I don’t see myself that way at all,’ Shakira admitted. ‘I know some people do, but it’s not my fault.

‘I think it’s a state of mind. If you’re in peace. If you’re happy where you are in life, I think you project that and that’s Sєxy. I think there’s nothing Sєxier than a smile –  a genuine smile. Spontaneity, being yourself, and not trying too hard, I think that’s Sєxy.’

Shakira also revealed how she got her fantastic figure back after giving birth to son Milan, now 13 months.

‘I try to eat healthy and I try to exercise,’ she said. ‘Not only going to the gym, because sometimes I do get tired of working out, the gym, the treadmill, the stuff that all women dread.

The Hips Don’t Like hit-maker posed not just for the cover of the magazine but also for a beauty pull-out and an inside shoot, which saw her looking lovely while lounging in the sunshine clad in a simple white top and jeans.

And The Voice coach revealed how she got the inspiration for her most famous song.

‘The reason why I named that song [Hips Don’t Lie] like that is because, when I’m in the studio, I know when a song is ready and it can be taken out of the oven, and it’s exactly when my hips start moving – when my body reacts physically to a song, I know—if it’s a dance song—that song is done,’ Shakira revealed.

‘So I used to say to my musicians, “my hips don’t lie! Are they moving? They’re not moving! So this is not ready.” And that’s how I came up with it, the idea of the song.