It’s been 10 years since Prince, the legendary musician, passed away on April 21, 2016.
Mayte Garcia, his ex-wife, recently reflected on how she learned the news that shook the world.
”I was driving,” Garcia told Us Weekly. “And I got called, and I don’t know how I drove home.”
When the reality of the moment sank in, Gracia said she was overcome with emotion.
”I don’t know how many nos I said. It’s something that we are all going to have to deal with, losing somebody we love, but it was really hard,” Garcia said, “and I didn’t want it to be true.”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in April 2017, Garcia spoke about their first meeting.
”First we became friends, then we became pen pals,” Garcia explained. “And then I sort of became his muse without knowing. Then we fell in love, and then we got married. It was a beautiful romance. I like to say a fairytale because it was so romantic and magical.”
PRINCE AND MAYTE MARRIED IN 1996
In 1996, the couple welcomed a son, Amiir, but he passed away six days after his birth. Two years later, her pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
Garcia and Prince divorced in 2000.
She shared how difficult it’s been to deal with Prince’s loss.
“That’s all I can remember of losing him. And then I remember, I mean, I heard because I couldn’t watch TV,” Garcia said. “And my phone was going off the hook, just the monuments. They lit it purple, and they honored him, which was, at the time, it was really hard to accept, but I thought that was very impactful.”
Garcia also said that Prince would have been elated to know how much his fans loved him.
“He knew how powerful his presence was, but I think he would have still been shocked and humbled,” she said. “And he was very, very humble. And I think he would have kind of grinned at it happening.”