Ten years after music icon Prince passed away, his ex-wife has recalled the impact of the news of his death.
Mayte Garcia has opened up about the impact Prince’s passing had on her, and the legacy she believes he leaves behind.
Garcia: “I Didn’t Want It To Be True”
Mayte Garcia was married to Prince from 1996 to 2000. Garcia was formerly a back-up dancer on Prince’s tour, having met the singer when she was 16. The singer passed away from an overdose on April 21, 2016.
Garcia told US Weekly that the day she found out about Prince’s death was “a horrible day.”
“I was driving,” she said. “I got called, and I don’t know how I drove home.”
She recalled, “I don’t know how many nos I said. It’s something that we are all going to have to deal with, losing somebody we love, but it was really hard, and I didn’t want it to be true.”
Garcia revealed that while Prince was being mourned worldwide by fans and the music industry alike, she was suffering a very personal loss.
“It was an intense sadness. An intense sadness, that’s all I can remember of losing him,” she said.
“And then I remember, I mean, I’ve heard because I couldn’t watch TV and my phone was going off the hook, just the monuments. They lit it purple and they honored him, which was, at the time, it was really hard to accept, but I thought that was very impactful.”
Garcia believes that Prince would be “shocked and humbled” by his lasting legacy and his impact on fans.
“He knew how powerful his presence was, but I think he would have still been shocked and humbled,” she said. “He was very, very humble. And I think he would have kind of grinned at it happening.”
Garcia Celebrated Ex-Husband With Charity Event
GettyGarcia also touched on the experience during an interview with Associated Press. “I didn’t think I’d be able to smile again,” she revealed. “It was really hard for me.”
However, a new profession gave her an opportunity to connect with her ex-husband.
“It’s crazy… I started teaching and I started to slowly play his music… and kind of absorb it, accept it.”
“And back then, I remember people trying to celebrate, or like, honor that day… it didn’t feel right until thinking of doing a benefit for the charity that we started 30 years ago. I kind of thought, ‘This is kind of amazing that it’s on the 10th year of his transitioning.'”
“I know he would have been rolling his eyes saying, ‘You better celebrate that I transitioned.’ ‘Cause he was a very spiritual person, he wanted to evolve,” she shared.
The nonprofit Live 4 Love Charities hosted an event in Prince’s honor on April 21, 2026.
Garcia and Prince co-founded the charity after the death of their son, Amiir, who passed just six days after being born, reported Entertainment Weekly.
Garcia left a powerful message in a caption for an Instagram post.
“And I keep thinking about the message he left us in Live 4 Love, that fierce reminder that even in chaos, even in pain, even when the world tries to harden you, the mission is the same: live for love,” she wrote.
“Without love, we don’t live. With love, we rise. That’s how we carry him forward. That’s how we honor him.”
She concluded, “That’s how we keep his light moving through the world. Forever ~ Mayte.”
