Files reveal Prince’s lavish lifestyle

CANADIAN EX-WIFE

MINNEAPOLIS •Courtfiles from the divorce between Prince and his Canadian former wife were unsealed on Friday, giving a snapshot of the couple’s “extravagant lifestyle.”

During the 2007 divorce proceedings, Toronto-born philanthropist Manuela Testolini argued that she needed roughly US$42,500per-month to maintain the lifestyle she lived while married to the late musician — one that included monthslong stays at rented homes in California and Hawaii, an assistant, a personal chef, $15,000-per-night stays at hotels, and hosting $50,000 after-parties for award shows with a $5,000-a-day stylist for Testolini’s hair and makeup, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“We had accounts at boutiques including Gucci, Versace and Valentino. We had accounts at Saks. There was never any restriction on (Prince’s) or my spending,” she said.

The Star Tribune asked a Minnesota court to unseal the divorce file in December, hoping the documents might answer questions about Prince’s painkiller use and the value of his estate, which remains the subject of an ongoing court challenge to determine who will inherit an estimated $200 million left behind when Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in April.

Testolini fought to keep the files sealed, arguing making them public would put her and her family at risk of harassment. A judge in Minnesota’s Hennepin County agreed to unseal them.

The unsealed files did little to clear up questions surrounding Prince’s death and heirs. (The 57-year-old star did not leave a will.)

Prince and Testolini married on Christmas, 2001. The pair settled at a home in Toronto’s tony Bridle Path neighbourhood.

The couple’s divorce was granted in 2007.