Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia opens up about tragic death of their infant son

Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia has opened up about the couple’s greatest heartbreak, the death of their son less than a week after his birth, admitting that neither of them ever truly got over the tragic incident.

Speaking about Amiir, their son – who was born in 1996 with a rare genetic disorder Pfeiffer syndrome type 2 and tragically passed away six days later – she said: “I don’t think he ever got over it. I don’t know how anybody can get over it. I know I haven’t.”

The brunette beauty had been having a smooth pregnancy, but a doctor recommended an amniocentesis to test for genetic abnormalities after she started bleeding one day, however the couple had been warned over the risk of a miscarriage with the test, so Prince was against it.

“Sometimes the body is trying to release the fetus for a reason,” the doctor told them, according to an excerpt from her new book, The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince, to which she added: “My husband said, ‘No, we’re not doing that.'”

Instead, the couple went home and prayed for their unborn child’s health – but Mayte recalls the moment she watched the Purple Rain singer’s face transform from “pure joy” to “pure terror” as they realised the extent of the baby’s problems immediately after the caesarean section procedure.

She said: “I don’t know how to describe the look on my husband’s face. Pure joy. And then they held the baby up to those harsh lights. The elation on my husband’s face turned to pure terror…

“They brought the baby over to us. He was curled on his side, gasping shallow little gulps of air. Because there were no lids to blink, his eyes looked startled and dry. I caught hold of his tiny hand, saying over and over, ‘Mama loves you, Mama’s here.”

Elsewhere, Tyka Nelson, one of Prince’s eight siblings, has opened up about the late music icon’s death, claiming he knew that he was approaching the final days of his life.

Prince passed away at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Minnesota on April 21, 2016, after an accidental Fentanyl overdose – but his bereaved sister believes he had been preparing her for his death prior to this fatal incident.

Reflecting on the memories of her late brother for an upcoming PEOPLE and ABC special ‘People Icons: Gone Too Soon’, Tyka explained: “About three years ago he called… He said, ‘I think I’ve done everything I’ve come to do.’”

She added: “My dad and Prince always spoke in these types of riddles… He knew [he was going to die soon]. And he was preparing me. It’s very clear… He needed to go. He was tired. Instead of crying, dance. He didn’t like me to cry, so I don’t want them to cry either.”

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