Prince’s ex-wife is finding his passing "extremely difficult" to cope with.
The ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker was found dead at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota on April 21 and Mayte Garcia – who he was wed to from 1996 to 2000 – is still finding it hard to speak about his shock death at the age of 57.
She said: "As you know, Prince is no longer with us.
"It is extremely difficult for me, and that is why I have chosen not to discuss it."
While she is finding it hard to talk about Prince, Mayte spoke tearfully about the passing of their son Boy Gregory, who suffered from rare genetic disorder Pfeiffer syndrome and died just a week after he was born in 1996, and how she felt "broken" and "lost hope" when he died.
Speaking at Single Mom’s Planet’s Single Mom’s Awards in Los Angeles on Friday (06.05.16), she said: "Like most women, I always dreamt of becoming a mother.
"Unfortunately, I got pregnant, lost the baby months later and then lost my marriage.
"It just wasn’t my time yet. After that, I was broken. And I lost hope. I basically gave up my dream of becoming a mom."
Over a decade after the sad passing of her son, the 42-year-old singer-songwriter starred in reality show ‘Hollywood Exes’ for three seasons and was initially terrified of taking part and exposing herself to the world.
She said: "For years my marriage to Prince was mine.
"The idea of exposing myself to the world … was terrifying.
However, she found taking part in the series to be unexpectedly cathartic and helped her take steps towards adopting her daughter Gia, now five.
She added: "I will never regret being a part of it, because the show served as therapy for me.
I opened up about losing my son and, in return, I gained a daughter," she explained.
"Long story short, a woman watching my show was moved enough to reach out to me through Twitter about adopting her baby."
Mayte felt the offer was her "second chance" at being a mother and she couldn’t be closer to her little girl.
She continued: "I didn’t know what to believe or feel, but I took the offer as a sign that the universe, the mother, father, God wanted to give me a second chance at my dream of becoming a mother. … I fell in love with that eight-month-old baby girl and there was another sign: We share the same birthday.
"We both needed to be loved. And five years later, she’s my greatest gift. She is my angel, my everything."
Prince’s ex-wife struggles with grief
