Mayte Garcia reflects on her marriage to Prince, one year after his death

On April 21, 2016, Prince passed away suddenly in his home in Chanhassen, Minn, following an accidental drug overdose. The "Raspberry Beret" singer was 57 years old.

Prince had a special connection with his fans. When he died, his devotees said it felt more like losing an ex than losing their favourite artist. For Mayte Garcia, that was her reality.

In 1990, when Garcia was 16, she met the "Purple Rain" singer in Germany and soon after was hired as one of his backup dancers. Three years later, the pair began dating, and in 1996 they were married.
 

On top of being Prince's wife and collaborator, Garcia was also his muse. Songs like "Seven" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" were inspired by their relationship. Garcia writes about her relationship with Prince in her new memoir, The Most Beautiful. 

In her book, Garcia recounts the joyful and painful moments she shared with Prince. In conversation with q's Tom Power, she says that when the two were together, she wasn't aware of any substance abuse issues - but in retrospect, there were signs. She recounts a time when Prince was hospitalized and had to get his stomach pumped after she said he mixed Aspirin with wine. Garcia also shares that Prince once asked her to dispose of a bottle of pills for him, "He must have been going through something," she says. "He asked me to go up to the room and flush some pills." When asked about the pills, Garcia says, "They weren't Aspirin, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get him better."

"I still have moments that I don't want to admit he's gone," Garcia says. With the anniversary of Prince's death coming up, Garcia says that Prince wouldn't want fans to mourn his death, "Celebrate him, play some music, don't be sad because he wouldn't want that." 

Garcia's book The Most Beautiful  is available on April 21, 2017.

Extra: Mayte Garcia shared some photos taken during her relationship with Prince. Find them below. 
 

— Audio produced by Chris Trowbridge​

— Written by Vanessa Nigro