Where Are Prince’s Ex-Wives Now? All About Belly-Dancer Mayte Garcia and Philanthropist Manuela Testolini’s Lives Nearly a Decade After His Tragic Death

Prince had several relationships throughout his life, but only two led to marriage.

The “Purple Rain” singer, who died of an accidental overdose on April 21, 2016, at age 57, first got married to Mayte Garcia in 1996. That same year, they welcomed a son named Amiir, who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder and died just six days after his birth. The loss took a toll on Prince and Garcia’s marriage, and the pair divorced in 2000. The singer went on to marry Manuela Testolini in 2001, and they later split in 2006.

Although Prince was single at the time of his death, both of his ex-wives were on good terms with him, and each issued statements about his passing.

“I can’t even think of the words of what I’m feeling,” Garcia told PEOPLE in a statement through her manager. “This man was my everything, we had a family. I am beyond deeply saddened and devastated.” She added: “I loved him then, I love him now and will love him eternally. He’s with our son now.”

Related: All About Prince's Parents, John L. Nelson and Mattie Della Shaw Baker

For her part, Testolini released a statement on her nonprofit’s Facebook page, reflecting on her and Prince’s shared passion for giving back. “Prince and I had a magical journey together and I loved him immensely. The world knew him as a musical genius - I knew him as a husband, friend and fierce philanthropist,” she wrote.

Following their respective divorces from Prince, Garcia and Testolini developed a close friendship. “Manuela and I bonded over our shared experience,” Garcia explained during an episode of the VH1 reality series Hollywood Exes, which she starred in from 2012 to 2014. “There’s no other person that can understand what I went through, so we have a lot in common,” she noted.

Here's everything to know about Prince’s wives: Mayte Garcia and Manuela Testolini.

Mayte Garcia

Prince and Garcia, a professional belly dancer, met when she was just 16 years old. During one of his concerts, Garcia's mother slipped a tape of her daughter's belly dancing to a member of Prince's team, hoping it would catch his attention. The "When Doves Cry" singer was impressed with Garcia’s talent and the two began corresponding.

When Garcia turned 18, she joined Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls tour as a backup dancer and moved into Paisley Park, the singer’s complex in Minnesota that served as both his home and recording studio.

The pair’s relationship eventually turned romantic, and they tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in 1996. “First we became friends, then we became pen pals. And then I sort of became his muse without knowing,” Garcia told the Wall Street Journal in April 2017.

She continued, “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.”

On Oct. 16, 1996, Garcia gave birth to a son named Amiir, which means “prince” in Arabic. Amiir was diagnosed with Pfeiffer syndrome type 2 and lived for only six days. Garcia got pregnant again two years later but suffered a miscarriage.

The losses put a strain on the couple’s marriage, and they divorced in 2000. “I think he thought because we lost our two children, two babies, that I wasn’t the one," she said during a 2017 interview on ABC News.

One year after Prince’s death, Garcia opened up about their time together in her 2017 memoir The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince.

While promoting the book on Good Morning America, Garcia shared one of her favorite memories of Prince: when she first told him she was pregnant. “He was watching a game or something,” she told host Michael Strahan. “And I remember calling him over and he wouldn’t come over and I was like, ‘Hey!’ and he looked at me. And when I told him, his face was like — it was amazing.”

Garcia also revealed her motivation for releasing the book, explaining: “This is kind of for me, an honor to him and what we had. It’s a beautiful story.”

Over the course of their relationship, Prince wrote several songs about Garcia, including “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" and "Comeback.”

The former dancer adopted a daughter named Gia in 2013 and continues to run the non-profit Live 4 Love Charities, which she and Prince founded in honor of their son. She also runs Mayte Rescue, a non-profit animal organization that she started in 2013 to help rescue dogs get adopted.

Manuela Testolini

Prince met his second wife, Manuela Testolini, a philanthropist from Toronto, shortly after his divorce from Garcia. At the time, she was a consultant for Prince and Garcia’s charity. They married on Christmas Day in 2001 and were together for five years.

With Prince’s encouragement, Testolini started her own charity, In a Perfect World, in 2005. The organization focuses on empowering children and youth through education, mentoring and building schools in underserved communities around the world.

In 2006, Testolini filed for divorce from Prince, though the reason was never made public. Their divorce was later finalized in 2007.

Prince and Testolini were a very private couple, but the philanthropist has opened up about their relationship in the years since his death. In her 2016 statement, Testolini revealed that they had spoken on the phone just a few days before he passed.

“I just reached out to him a few days ago to let him know that I was building a school in his honor,” she said. “My heart aches that the school will now be built in his memory.”

That June, Testolini announced that it would be built in Malawi, a country in southeastern Africa. “Prince wanted to change lives, especially those of impoverished children," Testolini told Entertainment Tonight. "Malawi is one of the 20 least developed countries in the world and most Malawian children, particularly girls, do not have access to education. Constructing a school in Malawi means lifting an entire community and breaking the cycle of poverty."

She continued: “His legacy as an activist and philanthropist will live on through these children and I'm honored and humbled to be able to make this happen. I know Prince would love the celebration that's about to take place in this community."

In January 2017, In A Perfect World opened a second school in Malawi, which was made possible through the generous contributions of Prince’s fans. “After we announced the Phaso School, I received an email from Prince fans …  who wanted to contribute and be part of something that was tangible,” Testolini told Billboard. “So I asked if they’d like to work toward a second school. To me, this is their baby.”

In her personal life, Testolini wed singer-songwriter Eric Benét, who was previously married to Halle Berry, in 2011. The couple have since welcomed two daughters, Lucia and Luna, together.

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