Gerard Piqué Has A Noticeable Age Gap With Girlfriend Clara Chia

Never has an innocuous jar of jam made headlines in such a way. We're talking about Gerard Piqué's affair with Clara Chia Marti, which his ex Shakira found out about because someone was eating a jar of jam in their house. According to Paper, Piqué and their children, Milan and Sasha, all hate this brand of jam. So, who was the homewrecker with a taste for sweet fruit spread — and how big is the age gap between her and Piqué?

Besides the fact she enjoys marmalade, we know that Marti — Piqué's current girlfriend — has been dating the Barcelona soccer star since he split with Shakira. Rather than leverage the high-profile relationship for clout, she's been quiet on social media. Marti's Instagram page shows that she only has eight posts and roughly 4,000 followers, including Piqué and his former Manchester United teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo. "[Piqué and Marti] have been keeping quiet about their relationship," a source told The U.S. Sun. "People have been helping [Piqué] keep the romance hush-hush and have wiped Clara's social media accounts so people can't find photos of her."

In keeping with their low-key romance, Marti and Piqué have both posted pictures to Instagram with frustratingly little information. Cue enigmatic selfies set to sunset backdrops with hearts for captions. Unsurprisingly, Marti has her comments turned off. A selfie isn't much to go off of, so while we do some digging on Marti, we'd like to point out the obvious: Piqué seems a lot older than his girlfriend.

Gerard Piqué has more than a decade on his girlfriend

Clara Chia Marti turned 24 years old after celebrating her birthday in February. The U.S. Sun reports that Marti is still a student who works part-time for Gerard Piqué's events production company, which is how the two met. Currently, Piqué is 36, over a decade older than his girlfriend, and he recently announced his retirement from the world of football. A 12-year age gap may not seem like a big deal, but it is when it drastically skews the power dynamic. In this case, Marti is still learning about the world, while Piqué has spent the past 12 years solidifying his reputation as an internationally renowned football star — and he has the bank to prove it.

Though he is significantly older than Marti, Piqué seems to relish being with someone so young. A source dished to Caras Magazine (via Marca) that the Barcelona player had been telling friends he "feels younger" with Marti. People are also taking the comment as a dig against his ex Shakira, who is a decade older than Piqué. At 46 years old, Shakira is technically old enough to be Marti's mom!

It's far more typical to see older men with younger women than the reverse, and, as was the case with Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, true love didn't pan out for Piqué and Shakira. It's unclear whether the age difference was a factor in their split or whether other problems were brewing below the surface.

Shakira has been hurt by Gerard Piqué's new relationship

You probably won't be surprised to learn that Shakira isn't handling Gerard Piqué's relationship with Clara Chia Marti well. After Piqué posted a selfie with Marti to Instagram, Shakira shared a video of herself lip-syncing to her new diss track "BZRP Music Sessions Vol. 53." The Colombian singer wrote, "Las mujeres ya no lloran las mujeres bailan merengue," which translates to "Women don't cry anymore, women dance merengue!" Her song features similar lyrics, but the real kicker is the line that shades Piqué and Marti directly: "Good luck with my so-called replacement / ... I'm worth two 22-year-olds/ You traded in a Ferrari for a Twingo/ You traded in a Rolex for a Casio." Ouch.

In February, the "Waka Waka" singer slyly shaded Marti in an interview with Las Estrellas (via the New York Post). "There is a place in h*** reserved for women who don't support other women," she said. Marti's name wasn't mentioned, but the connection was clear. Shakira also went on to explain how her ex-husband's infidelity ultimately made her stronger. "I've always been emotionally quite dependent on men," she explained. "I've fallen in love with love, and I think I've been able to understand that story from another perspective. Today I am sufficient on my own." In other words, this "She Wolf" might be down, but don't count her out just yet.