Mayte Garcia: Prince’s First Wife to Publish Memoir
Prince’s first wife, Myate Garcia, has announced she is writting an “intimate memoir” about her life with the musician.
The Most Beautiful will chronicle her relationship and marriage with Prince and the painful loss of their son in 1996.
Publisher Hachette said the book was due for release in April 2017, marking the first anniversary of Prince’s death.
Mayte Garcia said: “Ours was a rare, almost otherworldly connection.
“I want to share our love story, and with it the highs and lows – always coming from a loving place, as this man is still part of my family and always will be.”
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Mayte Garcia and Prince were introduced backstage at one of the singer’s concerts in 1990, when Garcia was just 16.
An accomplished dancer, Mayte Garcia had caught Prince’s attention after her mother sent a video of her belly dancing to the singer in the hope he might hire her.
Mayte Garcia and Prince stayed in touch and two years later she joined his touring band. After falling in love, they married on Valentine’s Day, 1996. White doves were released as they exchanged vows.
She became pregnant almost at once, but their son Ahmir Gregory died just a week after birth due to Pfeiffer syndrome, a rare defect of the skull.
That loss, followed by a miscarriage not long afterwards, tore the grieving couple apart and they divorced in1999.
In 2001, Prince married Manuela Testolini in a private ceremony; she filed for divorce in May 2006.
In a statement announcing the memoir, Mayte Garcia said: “Prince was loved the world over but few knew him intimately.”
The book’s title refers to Prince’s song, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, which she inspired.
Prince was also in the process of writing a memoir before his death. It is not known if the book was finished, or whether it will see the light of day.
Prince died on April 21 following an accidental overdose of the painkiller Fentanyl. He was 57.
A tribute concert is planned in Prince’s home town of Minneapolis for next month.