Mayte Garcia Mourns Prince Ahead of 10th Anniversary of His Death as Unseen Photos Give a Glimpse Inside His Private Life (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Prince and Mayte Garcia shared many beautiful memories amid some difficult days in their relationship

• Photos giving a glimpse into Prince’s life offstage are the subject of a new book from ACC Art Books, Prince: Black, White, Color by Steve Parke

• Garcia was married to Prince from 1996 to 2000

Prince’s superstardom and unique artistry set him apart from the rest.

Rarely seen photos of the late icon are featured in the new book, Prince: Black, White, Color, by Steve Parke. The collection of photos shows the photographer’s work with Prince from 1996 through 2001, with many rare and unseen photos that the pair worked on together.

The photos capture the artist in his prime, from sensual solo poses to special moments with then-wife Mayte Garcia.

“Prince was old school. He’d never leave the house without looking amazing, like Marilyn Monroe, and that was him. You’d never catch him in sweatpants and no makeup, so we were always ready,” Garcia tells PEOPLE. “It was just a natural thing. It was habitual. Now, forget it, but back then, we were always on. That’s how he lived.”

Take PEOPLE with you! Subscribe to PEOPLE magazine to get the latest details on celebrity news, exclusive royal updates, how-it-happened true crime stories and more — right to your mailbox.

Parke and Prince first connected in the late 1980s, developing a relationship over the years that blossomed as Prince asked Parke if they could work together with digital cameras, emerging media for the time.

“Prince loved being able to see and download photos right there on the spot, the control it gave him over his own images. And he loved the endless possibilities of the early Photoshopping effects and tricks, though I tried not to abuse them,” Parke writes in the photo book, available through ACC Art Books April 14.

The photos include a sweet moment between Prince and Garcia and one of the couple’s dogs, a Yorkie named Mia.

“We were just shooting and having fun. That was at the house in Spain and Prince told me to put Miaon the piano,” she laughs. “It was always fun and it was always for something. I see them, and it brings me back to being young. I’m not saying that life is over, but it just takes me back and also makes me appreciate it.”

The release commemorates a decade since Prince’s untimely death in 2016. The seven-time Grammy winner died of an accidental overdose at his home, Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minn. The tragedy came after the entertainer had been privately dealing with an opioid addiction.

Parke explained that Prince liked to shoot at home because it gave him room to experiment with his look. So, too, did working with digital cameras.

“Using the digital camera, with its immediate feedback, seemed to empower him to try looks shaped by a passing whim. He knew they could be deleted if he didn’t like them; if he did, he’d use them as inspiration for new looks. Every bit of it was on the fly, pure trial and error. For him, this seemed to be a much easier task with just one other person instead of an entire crew,” Parke wrote.

“After each individual shoot, we’d grab my laptop and review the images. Prince would sit behind me and tell me which images to keep and which to delete. An efficient method, but also unfortunate because, at that point in tech history, there was no easy way to recover deleted files. And he did ask! And, of course, I’d love to have all those images lost to history.”

While Parke honors Prince’s legacy with his work, Garcia does the same, continuing her work with Live 4 Love Charities, which they first began nearly 30 years ago, in honor of their late son Amiir.

“Of course, he was a genius, but I don’t think a lot of people don’t know how much he cared and wanted to help, and that’s why Live 4 Love exists. He left me on, and it’s my job to continue giving back and helping as much as we can. He helped a lot of people, and I hope one day to soon release, hopefully, everything that he did.”

Garcia is looking forward to a celebration of all things Prince that’s “going to be screaming purple,” on April 21st in Hollywood as the City of Los Angeles celebrates its first-ever Prince Day. The city will glow purple in his honor.

“The night will have the Minneapolis All Funk Stars, everybody who played with Prince. There’s Paul Peterson, who is in the family. There’s Elisa Fiorello, who used to sing with them, Shelby J, Kirk. I mean, everybody is coming together and performing. We also have new artists like DE’WAYNE, an amazing young artist opening for Lenny Kravitz in the summertime. I love his music, and he’s going to come play.”

“If you’re a Prince fan, you just got to come, because it’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be amazing food and drinks, and we’re going to have a raffle. Then, I love the videos that I’m going to have. We have a jazz take on Prince’s music, which is when the students are going to come for the Live 4 Music program. They’re going to play, so it’s just going to be a great party.”

Read the original article on People