Inside Prince's Ex Mayte Garcia's Life Today
It's been five years since iconic musician Prince died from an accidental overdose (via NPR). The following year, his ex-wife Mayte Garcia released a memoir about their relationship titled The Most Beautiful: My Life With Prince.
According to The Daily Mail, the book recapped how Garcia began working for Prince as a backup dancer when she was just 16 years old and how he subsequently initiated a sexual relationship with her when she was 19. They married in 1996, when Garcia was 22 and Prince was 37, and their marriage was annulled exactly three years later.
As of 2017, Garcia was living in Woodland Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, as reported by Irish News. According to the outlet she has a daughter, Gia, who was five at the time of the interview, and teaches belly dancing classes. Garcia shared that, although she and Prince hadn't spoken for several years at the time of his death, the loss hit her hard and she experienced a great deal of grief.
Mayte Garcia spoke out about living with multiple sclerosis
In 2019, Mayte Garcia opened up about living with multiple sclerosis. In an interview with Brain & Life, the dancer shared that she'd had her first flareup in 2010 but initially kept her illness private, telling only close friends and family.
"I'll speak out if it gives people hope," Garcia told the outlet, explaining that she initially feared she'd lose work as a dancer if people knew she had multiple sclerosis. "MS can be a horrible disease. But if you take care of yourself and stay in close communication with your doctors, it also can be manageable."
Per Brain & Life, Garcia had moved to Las Vegas with Gia (it's unclear if she still maintains her residence in Los Angeles) and founded Mayte's Rescue, a nonprofit that helps find homes for dogs. The article also noted that Garcia was developing a Vegas show titled The Most Beautiful and planned to include some of Prince's most famous songs.