Exactly 30 years ago today, on Valentine’s Day in 1996, Prince got married for the first time. The Purple One wed professional dancer Mayte Garcia in a ceremony held in Minneapolis at the Park Avenue United Methodist Church, which Prince had attended when he was young.
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Prince was 37 and Garcia was 22 when they married. The bride and groom both wore white, and Prince wore a jacket that featured Mayte first initial and the symbol that served as his name at the time. In attendance were a small group of family members and friends. They included Prince’s mother and stepfather and Garcia’s father, who walked her down the aisle. Prince’s father, John Nelson, who was estranged from his son, didn’t attend the nuptials.
For the event, the church was filled with orchids, gardenias, and roses, and there were seven flower girls. Kirk Johnson, a member of Prince’s backing band New Power Generation, was his best man. Kirk’s brother, Rev. Keith Johnson, officiated the ceremony.
The music played at the ceremony included “The Lord’s Prayer” and a classical suite Prince wrote for his NPG Orchestra, titled “Kamasutra.” The wedding program was titled “Coincidence or Fate?” and included an imaginary tale about how Prince and Mayte became a couple. The story claims they were soulmates who planned to spend their “last lives on Earth” together. “Coincidence or Fate?” also was a name of a piece Prince wrote for the NPG Orchestra.
After the wedding, a private dinner was held at Prince’s Paisley Park headquarters. Prince wrote a special song titled “Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife” for his first dance with Mayte. The tune later was later featured on his 1996 album Emancipation.
More About Prince’s Relationship with Mayte Garcia
Prince first met Mayte Garcia in 1990 when she was 16, after her mother got a videotape of her daughter belly dancing to the multi-talented entertainer. By 1992, Mayte had joined Prince’s band New Power Generation as the lead dancer and a backing vocalist.
Around the time Mayte turned 19, she and Prince started a romantic relationship.
Garcia contributed vocals to most, if not all, the studio albums Prince released from 1992 through 1998. Mayte also released a solo album called Child Of The Sun in 1995 that was mostly written and co-produced by Prince.
For their wedding night, Prince wrote Mayte a song titled “Let’s Have A Baby.” That tune also was included on the Emancipation album.
In October 1996, Mayte had a son with Prince named Amiir. Sadly, the child died a week later of a rare genetic disorder. Garcia also suffered a miscarriage, and the tragedies apparently led to the couple’s split. They divorced in 2000.
Prince got married a second time in 2001, to Canadian businesswoman Manuela Testolini. That relationship also ended in divorce in 2007. Prince died of an accidental overdose in April 2016. He was 57.
(Photo by Pete Still/Redferns)
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