Prince’s ex-fiancée Sheila Escovedo, better known as Sheila E., mourned the late pop icon after he passed away at age 57 at his Paisley Park recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on Thursday, April 21.
“The meaning of the word loss has taken on new meaning this day,” she told Us Weekly in a statement. “Thank God, love lives Forever.”
The “Glamorous Life” singer and drummer was one of Prince’s proteges and a longtime collaborator after meeting the legendary artist in 1978 at an Al Jarreau concert. She also expressed her sorrow on Twitter shortly after news broke of his death: “My heart is broken. There are no words. I love you!”
The “Purple Rain” singer was reportedly battling the flu in recent weeks. Earlier this month, on Friday, April 15, Prince was rushed to the hospital via ambulance after his private plane had to make an emergency landing in Illinois at Quad City International Airport in Rock Island County. Authorities responded to his home on Thursday morning at 9:43 a.m.; He was pronounced dead not long after.
Escovedo, daughter of Latin percussionist Pete Escovedo, detailed her relationship with Prince in the 1980s in her 2014 memoir, The Beat of My Own Drum. She was signed with Prince’s production company and he worked on her first album, The Glamorous Life. “He blew me a kiss, turned to the audience and took the most amazing guitar solo ever,” she says of the moment he mouthed “marry me?” on stage. “For the rest of that year my relationship with Prince was a dream.”
