Prince and Mayte Garcia were married from 1996 to 2000. The pair first met when Mayte was only 16 years old; as the story goes, she and her family were at a Prince concert when her mother managed to get a tape of her teen daughter belly dancing to a member of Prince's crew. Mayte was introduced to the singer as soon as he saw the tape.
The twosome exchanged letters for the next two years. When she turned 18 years old, Mayte was invited to become a dancer for Prince.
Things between the pair weren't officially romantic for at least a year. Mayte later told The Irish Times that Prince rented an apartment for her that was near his home, and she was often waiting for him to call her as she wasn't permitted to call him.
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Mayte adds that when she was 19 years old things between herself and Prince shifted, with the singer telling the teen dancer that it was time for her to go on birth control. She told the publication that she was excited about the prospect, adding, "I trusted this man. I loved this man. It was just a great connection between the two of us."
The two got engaged in 1995 and swiftly married, but their happiness was marred by the death of their first son, Amiir. Prince was initially thrilled when their son was born in October 1996, but that happiness soon gave way to sadness. Their baby had been born with a super-rare genetic disorder known as Pfeiffer syndrome type II.
Children born with the condition typically present with heads that are atypical; this might mean their foreheads are high, their eyes are widely spaced, and their jaws are not developed all the way. Infants born with type II often have a short lifespan.
Mayte says that their son died on the sixth day after his birth. She had been sent home from the hospital and was asleep at the time of his death, and Prince did not wake up her up so she could say goodbye. Prince reportedly left their home the day after they received the baby's ashes in an urn.
Mayte became pregnant again a year later, but she suffered a miscarriage a few months into the pregnancy. When Prince received news of the loss, he reportedly began to ignore her. Mayte went to stay with her mother for a week, and when she returned she was still bleeding heavily.
Mayte's doctor told her to have a dilation and curettage or else risk death, and Prince told Mayte she couldn't have the procedure because it went against his relatively new beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Mayte went back to her mother's home and had the lifesaving procedure anyway.
Ultimately, the pair divorced in 2000.
