Prince was a mystery wrapped in purple lace. Honestly, trying to pin down the personal life of the man who wrote "Purple Rain" is like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands. People always ask, who was Prince married to? It’s a simple question with a really heavy, complicated answer. He wasn’t just a rock star; he was a Jehovah’s Witness, a tragic father, and a bit of a romantic chameleon. He married twice. Both women were dancers. Both marriages ended in divorce. But the stories behind those two unions? They’re as different as Sign o' the Times is from 1999.
He didn't do things the normal way. Prince lived in a world called Paisley Park, a massive complex in Chanhassen, Minnesota, that functioned as his studio, his home, and his private sanctuary. When he fell in love, he fell hard, but he also expected his partners to exist within that hyper-creative, 24/7 musical orbit. It wasn't an easy life for anyone involved.
Mayte Garcia: The First Wife and the Great Heartbreak
The first time the world really saw Prince "settle down" was with Mayte Garcia. She was a teenager when they met—a belly dancer from Germany whose mother sent Prince a video of her dancing. Prince was smitten. He hired her. She became his muse, the inspiration behind "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."
They got married on Valentine’s Day in 1996. It was a massive deal. Mayte was only 22; Prince was 37. To the public, it looked like a fairy tale. They lived in a house in Spain that Prince had built for her, and for a minute, it seemed like the elusive superstar had finally found his match. But the reality was devastatingly dark.
The loss of Amiir
In October 1996, Mayte gave birth to their son, Amiir (Arabic for "Prince"). He was born with Pfeiffer syndrome type 2, a rare genetic disorder that causes the skull bones to fuse prematurely. He lived for only six days.
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This changed everything. Prince, known for his control, couldn't control this. He refused to acknowledge the death publicly for a long time. In a truly surreal moment on The Oprah Winfrey Show, shortly after the baby had passed, Prince gave Oprah a tour of Paisley Park and showed her the playroom, acting as if everything was fine. Mayte later wrote in her memoir, The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince, that the grief eventually tore them apart. They lost a second child to a miscarriage shortly after. By 1999, the marriage was annulled on their third anniversary, though they stayed together briefly afterward before finally divorcing in 2000.
Manuela Testolini: The Quiet Partnership
So, who was Prince married to after the trauma of his first marriage? That would be Manuela Testolini. If Mayte was the fiery, artistic muse of his 90s peak, Manuela was the grounding force of his 2000s transition.
They met while she was working for his charitable foundation, Love 4 One Another. She was a Canadian businesswoman, smart, composed, and stayed largely out of the paparazzi's lens. They married in 2001 in a private ceremony. This was a pivotal era for Prince. He had officially become a Jehovah’s Witness, mentored by the legendary bassist Larry Graham. Manuela converted with him.
Their life together was quieter. They lived in Toronto for a while—Prince actually loved Canada because he could walk down the street with relatively little harassment compared to the States. He was productive, he was clean-living, and he seemed stable. But the intensity of being married to a genius is a lot. Manuela filed for divorce in 2006. It was reportedly an amicable split, but Prince was supposedly blindsided by it. She went on to marry the singer Eric Benét, which is a wild "small world" coincidence since Benét was once married to Halle Berry.
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The Women Who Weren't Wives (But Almost Were)
You can't talk about who Prince was married to without mentioning the ones who nearly made it to the altar. His life was a revolving door of brilliant, talented women who often found their careers launched by his mentorship.
- Sheila E.: The "Queen of Percussion" revealed in her biography that Prince proposed to her on stage while they were touring. They never actually made it to the wedding, but their musical bond remained one of the strongest in his life.
- Susan Moonsie: A member of Vanity 6. She was his primary muse in the early 80s before the fame became world-shattering.
- Susannah Melvoin: Sister of Wendy Melvoin (from The Revolution). They were engaged for a stint during the Parade era. She’s the one he wrote "Nothing Compares 2 U" about. Imagine being the inspiration for one of the greatest heartbreak songs ever written.
- Vanity (Denise Matthews): Perhaps his most famous "almost." They were the ultimate 80s power couple. She was the original lead for the film Purple Rain before she backed out and Apollonia took the role.
Why the marriages failed
It’s easy to blame the rock star lifestyle, but with Prince, it was deeper. He was a perfectionist. He didn't sleep. He’d call his band members at 3:00 AM to jam. That kind of obsession with art doesn't leave much room for the mundane compromises a marriage requires.
Also, the religious shift was huge. When Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness, his entire worldview shifted. He stopped performing his more "explicit" songs for a time. He became more rigid in his personal expectations. While Manuela shared that faith for a while, the pressure of living under the shadow of a man who was essentially treated like a god by his fans—and who expected total devotion at home—was a massive weight.
The Paisley Park Legacy
After his second divorce in 2006, Prince never married again. He had various "protégées" and close companions—Bria Valente, Judith Hill, Damaris Lewis—but he lived out his final years as a bachelor in his purple fortress.
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When he passed away in 2016, he died intestate (without a will). This caused a massive legal nightmare for his heirs, which included his sister Tyka Nelson and several half-siblings. Because he wasn't married at the time of his death, there was no surviving spouse to inherit his massive estate, including the legendary "Vault" of unreleased music.
What we can learn from Prince's relationships
Prince’s romantic life teaches us that even the most talented people on Earth struggle with the basics of human connection. He had the world at his feet but suffered the most relatable human pains: the loss of a child, the sting of divorce, and the difficulty of balancing work with love.
If you’re looking to understand the man behind the music, don't just listen to the hits. Look at the lyrics of "The Beautiful Ones" or "Forever in My Life." He desperately wanted a "happily ever after," even if his genius kept him from ever truly finding a way to stay in one place.
Practical Takeaways for Fans and Researchers:
- Read the Source Material: If you want the real story of the first marriage, read Mayte Garcia's book The Most Beautiful. It's heartbreaking but honest.
- Separate the Myth from the Man: Prince cultivated a "sexy" image, but his later life was defined by intense religious devotion and a fairly reclusive lifestyle.
- Check the Timeline: People often confuse his "muses" with his wives. Remember: Mayte (1996-2000) and Manuela (2001-2006). That's the list.
- Explore the Music of the Eras: To feel what he felt during the Mayte years, listen to Emancipation. For the Manuela years, check out Musicology.
Prince’s marriages weren't footnotes; they were the scaffolding for some of his most profound creative periods. He loved deeply, lost tragically, and ultimately left behind a complicated romantic legacy that is just as fascinating as his discography.