The Untold Truth Of Prince's Son

Prince was arguably one of the greatest musicians of his generation and there is no question that he was talented beyond measure. The multi-talented artist signed with Warner Bros. Records at just 19 years old and achieved critical success with albums that remain largely popular today, including Purple Rain in 1984 and Sign 'O The Times in 1987, among others. He sold over 150 million records worldwide and won a variety of prestigious awards. Unfortunately, he passed away on April 21, 2016, at age 57, leaving the world reeling from the tragic loss of an icon. Dancer Mayte Garcia grew up idolizing Prince and watching him on MTV. Little did she know, she would ultimately join the rock star on tour as a dancer, and later, become his wife. Garcia first met Prince when she was 16 years old. She told NPR in a 2017 interview that her mom had hatched a plan to get a video of her performing into Prince's hands at one of his concerts, and somehow, it worked. Next thing she knew, Prince was asking to meet her backstage and, although Garcia was just a teenager, Prince allegedly remarked, quote, "that's my future wife," when they met. The two then struck up a platonic friendship, exchanging letters as pen pals for a few years. Garcia was invited to dance on his Diamonds and Pearls Tour when she turned 18 in 1992. The couple dated for four years and got married on Feb 14, 1996, when Garcia was 22 and Prince was 37. On Oct. 16, 1996, Garcia gave birth to a son, Amiir Nelson. He was born with Pfeiffer Syndrome Type 2, a very rare genetic disease, and could not breathe without a ventilator. He passed away six days later, leaving the couple devastated. In the years after Prince's death, Garcia has opened up about losing their son and the impact it had on both of them in her memoir, The Most Beautiful Life: My Life With Prince. Garcia described the moment Prince became a father, as well as the moment he realized something was not right, writing, "I don't know how to describe the look on my husband's face. Pure joy. And then they held the baby up to those harsh lights... The elation on my husband's face turned to pure terror." A week after Amiir died, Prince and Garcia did an interview with Oprah, at Prince's insistence, and kept the death of their baby a secret. At this time, rumors of Amiir's death were circulating in the press, but Prince would not answer Oprah's questions about it and, instead, alluded that he was still alive, telling her, quote, "things couldn't be better." Prince was likely in shock and it was difficult for the couple to accept that Amiir was actually gone. Garcia apparently did not want to do the interview, but said she did it for her husband and because she had hope that they would have another child. In a 2017 ABC interview, she said, "I knew we had an album to promote. The faith that kept me going was that we were going to try again." The couple did try again and Garcia got pregnant, but she unfortunately miscarried. The loss of Amiir, as well as the baby that never came to term, proved too much for the couple and put a strain on their relationship. They divorced in 2000 after only four years of marriage. Following the heartbreaking death of his son, Prince threw himself into his work as grieving people often do.He came out with the acoustic album, The Truth, which was sold as a package with his album Crystal Ball. One specific track on the album, "Comeback" — the shortest song on the album — was a particularly emotional track and fans later came to realize it was likely about the loss of his son. The lyrics describe the emotional carnage losing a loved one leaves behind and it ends with the hope that death is not the end. The death of Amiir likely weighed heavy on Prince for the remainder of his life. In a 2017 interview with People, Garcia said, "I don't think he ever got over it. I don't know how anybody can get over it. I know I haven't." #Prince #RockStars #Musicians