Prince’s former wives issue messages of grief

The two women who married Prince have both issued messages of love and grief in the wake of his passing.

Mayte Garcia, Prince’s first wife who married the superstar in 1996, wrote on Instagram: “This man was my everything, we had a family. I am beyond deeply saddened and devastated … I loved him then, I love him now, and will love him eternally … He’s with our son now.

Prince and Garcia had a son who died a week after birth in 1996 of a rare genetic disorder. The couple divorced in 2000.

Prince’s second wife, Manuela Testolini, issued a statement saying she was “heartbroken beyond words.”

“Prince and I had a magical journey together,” Testolini wrote, “and I loved him immensely. The world knew him as a musical genius — I knew him as a husband, friend and fierce philanthropist. Philanthropy brought us together and it was Prince who encouraged me to start my own charity over 10 years ago.”

Testolini, who heads a foundation called “In a Perfect World,” wrote that she had just reached out to Prince a few days earlier to let him know she was building a school in his honour.

“My heart aches that the school will now be built in his memory,” she wrote in the statement. “His passing leaves me with such a devastating feeling of pain and loss. The love we shared, the music he made and our life together is forever engraved in my heart.”

Prince and Testolini were married from 2001 to 2006.