She was a beautiful, belly-dancing ingénue just 16 years old. He was a multi-millionaire pop superstar, a global icon and, at 32, twice her age.

The four-year love affair between Prince and Mayte Garcia culminated in an extravagant marriage ceremony, an outlandish life­­style and tragically, the loss of two children.

She also says the relationship “screwed” her for life and she can’t find lasting love.

In her first British interview in nine years, Mayte gives a fascinating insight into the weird world of one of the planet’s most eccentric pop stars.

“When we met I was a virgin and had never been with anybody,” she reveals.

“I’d always been a very focused dancer and very protected. Prince was my first crush, and my first love, but we didn’t start to get serious until I turned 18. He was very respectful.

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“I remember our first kiss, and thinking, ‘Oh God, oh wow, this is not happening!’

“I remember it being overwhelming and weird. Our entire time together was amazing and surreal, and he showed me some incredible things and introduced me to incredible people.”

He also expressed his feelings for Mayte in quite some style, writing the song The Most Beautiful Girl In The World for her.

Mayte says: “All the songs he wrote for me, that’s a pretty hard act to follow. I’ve dated a couple of guys, musicians, who have written me poems or songs and I’m like, ‘Seriously, don’t even go there. You can’t compete!’

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“But I think I’m now screwed for life because my first relationship was the most bizarre relationship ever and I’m not normal any more. I’ve kind-of been spoiled and I guess I am kind-of screwed-up now.”

The pair were introduced backstage at a Prince show after he’d seen a video of her bellydancing. They stayed in touch and two years later she joined his band and became an integral part of his life.

They married on Valentine’s Day, 1996, in Prince’s home town of Minneapolis. Mayte, then 22, wore a necklace of the famous Symbol that Prince had adopted as his name. White doves were released as they exchanged vows.

She became pregnant almost at once, but their son Boy Gregory died just a week after birth due to Pfeiffer syndrome, a rare defect of the skull. That loss, followed by a miscarriage not long afterwards, tore the grieving couple apart.

(Image: Getty Images)

Mayte explains: “To lose two babies is really scary... it really caught on me emotionally, physically, everything. It took me at least 15 years to get over it and still, to this day, I miss my son.

“I believe a child dying between a couple either makes you stronger or it doesn’t. For me, it was very, very hard to move forward and for us as a couple I think it probably broke us.”

Bizarrely, within days of losing their son the couple went on the Oprah Winfrey show and pretended he was still alive. She says now they were simply unable to process the death..

“We had to show people that we were strong, that we had faith, and that we would try again,” she adds.

“But I didn’t really want to speak to anybody. I was physically distraught. When you miscarry your body is freaking out, like ‘Why can’t I feed the baby?’ so those were the things I went through. Every day was a struggle even to breathe.”

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After she and Prince separated in 2000 she began a two-year relationship with Mötley Crüe rocker Tommy Lee. Two years ago she adopted her daughter, Gia, now three-and-a-half.

Today at 41, Mayte is tanned and fit. Refusing to be known merely as “Prince’s ex wife” she is now a bona fide Hollywood actress and has landed a leading role in the widely hyped new US ABC series, Kingmakers.

She plays the wife of a senator and says the show is “scandalous, fun and full of twists and turns”.

When not acting, Mayte (pronounced “My-Tay, not “Matey” as I inadvertently call her) rescues animals. She has set up two dog sanctuaries and has six dogs, two cats and five birds at her LA home.

So although Prince, now 57, wasn’t the only eccentric in their relationship, it must have been an odd life being, well, Mrs Prince at Paisley Park, his famous 70,000 sq ft mansion in Minneapolis.

(Image: WireImage)

For one thing, in 1993 he had changed his name to that unpronounceable symbol following a row with his record label. You had to say The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (soon abbreviated to TAFKAP).

So in four years of marriage Mayte never actually addressed her husband as anything at all. Ever.

“We never had any pet names, and I don’t think in the whole time we were together I called him anything, which I guess is a bit weird,” she confesses.

“I never called him Prince because I wanted him to be a person to me, not the man behind Purple Rain. Plus, technically, I was married to the Symbol. Our house was full of them, but I just couldn’t say the word. When we got married it was much easier. If someone else was there I could say, ‘Could I speak to my husband please?’ ”

Neither did they ever go out on a date. “I doubt any woman ever has... he’s not really a cinema kinda guy,” she says.

Although the 5ft 2in singer wore specially made high heels at all times, even at home, she says that at heart he wasn’t self-conscious about his lack of height.

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Mayte, 5ft 5ins in her stockinged size five feet, says: “When I was with him he always wore these little stiletto heels – I don’t know what size he was but I could put my feet into his shoes.

“But I never felt his insecurity in height. You didn’t see it because he was who he was. He’s also really, really, really funny, which most people don’t realise. This is why so many people fall for him. Prince never, ever mentioned it except to say he wished he was taller so he could play basketball. He was actually a really great basketball player.”

With a music studio and nightclub inside the marital home, their daily routine was a world turned upside down, going to bed at 6 or 7am and not surfacing until past midday.

“Sleep is over-rated,” laughs Mayte. “When you’re creating, travelling and having the best time of your life the last thing on your mind is sleep.

“Often we would play an arena then there would be an aftershow, and afterwards you’re not tired because you’ve got so much adrenaline going.

“We didn’t have cellphones then, and we never wore watches, so time was just never something we would think about.

“We were our own creators, and he didn’t have anyone to report to. I loved his energy, his charisma.”

She adds: “We last spoke about five years ago when I reached out to him. There is no animosity or bad blood, and he was my husband and the father of my child. So although I am not actively in love with him, I will always love him – he’s a great guy.”