Prince reportedly burned his late son's cremated ashes to help him deal with his loss, according to his ex-wife Mayte Garcia.
The dancer married the late Purple Rain icon in 1996 and they welcomed their son Amiir Gregory Nelson into the world later that year, but the baby was born with rare genetic disorder Pfeiffer syndrome and lived for less than a week.
Mayte and Prince stayed together for a few years after Amiir's death, but they divorced in 2000, and Mayte claims she found out her late ex-husband asked his assistant to burn memorabilia from his marriage and the birth - including the baby's ashes.
"In some sad, painful moment, he had it all burned, as if fire could cauterize this deep wound he couldn't close," Garcia writes in her memoir The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince. "I wasn't there to witness it, and I can't bear to think about it now."
Mayte has always blamed the breakdown of the marriage on the loss of Amiir and a subsequent miscarriage. She insists the relationship would probably have survived had it not been for the tragedy.
"I've learned that not many couples make it after the loss of a child," she tells People magazine. "And then when you have another one (miscarriage), that was really hard on us.
"I don't think he ever got over it," she adds. "I don't know how anybody can get over it. I know I haven't."
Prince passed away last year (Apr16) and Mayte admits she was initially shocked when she learned of his death. She now finds comfort in thinking her ex is reunited with their son.
"I know they're finally together," she says.
