Manuela has kissed her Prince goodbye in divorce court C.J., Star Tribune Last update: July 26, 2006 - 11:00 PM
I sensed something amiss between Prince and Manuela when she became my pen pal in early May. This was the first time that one of Prince's women, so to speak, had made nice with the columnist who irritated the rocker into writing a song called "Billy Jack Bitch." (You can stop denying it's about me, Prince; your first wife, Mayte, spilled the beans in a magazine interview with D.C. celebrity journalist Jawn Murray.) A tip was received Tuesday, and on Wednesday a Hennepin County court document confirming that Manuela had filed for divorce on May 24 was located. Her rocker husband has an impeccable eye for a sweet, pretty, young bride but apparently no clue how to keep one. Or does he? PR firm didn't know Visions of gigantic Kobe-size diamond rings popped into my head when someone at a NYC PR firm for Manuela's company, Gamillah Inc., told me she didn't know about any divorce. "As far as we know, it's not true," said Jessica Pollack of Alison Brod Public Relations late Wednesday. I had sent Pollack an e-mail seeking contact with Manuela, and then called for an official explanation of what Gamillah does. "I got your e-mail," Pollack said. "She's [Manuela] leaving for vacation for the next month. A nice long vacation out of the country, actually." That's convenient Pollack had no explanation for why court documents state that Manuela has hired divorce attorney Edward Winer. One thing's for sure -- with Winer billing the hours, Manuela will ride off with much, much more than a "Little Red Corvette." Court records ID Prince's lawyer as Alan Eidsness. While both lawyers returned my calls, they didn't say anything worth repeating. What's the point of asking for the divorce file to be sealed if you're gonna yak about it? With the file sealed, we won't be able to confirm little things like when Manuela and Prince married. First, there was Mayte Prince dumped his first wife, Mayte, a dancer, with some extremely bogus whatever verbiage about not needing a contract as the framework for their relationship. Prince and Mayte married on Valentine's Day 1996 at Park Avenue United Methodist Church. Their union produced a baby boy, who sadly died from Pfeiffer syndrome type 2, a rare skull deformity resulting from a genetic mutation. In 1998 Prince announced that he and Mayte would divorce; then in 1999 Prince confused the issue by saying they hadn't divorced. The Mirror reported in January 2002 "news on the mystery woman superstar Prince married in a hush-hush ceremony in Hawaii. The website for the purple pop star claims that Prince's second wife hails from Canada. According to the site, Manuela, who worked for Prince's famous Paisley Park complex, married the star on New Year's Eve in a Jehovah's Witness ceremony." Considering Symbolina's alleged aversion to contracts, there was great suspicion about what kind of marriage he had entered into with Manuela. For a time I called Manuela his "supposed wife" and "Mrs." In 2003 I reported a sighting of Manuela waiting in a truck, while Prince met his Jehovah's Witness proselytizing obligations by door- knocking in Eden Prairie during -- gasp! -- a Vikings game. There have been rumblings about problems in this marriage since last year, even though they didn't seem to spend much time here. Just as word was out that they really were not getting along, in January the couple arrived hand-in-hand at Bellanotte for a romantic dinner in a private dining area. Pen pals Manuela first corresponded via FedEx with a thank-you note after a May 4 column item about her volunteer work with Free Arts Minnesota. The nonprofit charity's mission is to expose abused kids to the healing power of creative expression. So I replied with a note asking about the "In a Perfect World" stationery on which she had written. Another FedEx packet followed with information about the charity she founded. It stated that "In a Perfect World," which Pollack said is under the Gamillah umbrella, is a foundation "dedicated to developing compassionate, socially responsible leadership in children and youth that will address community needs and issues." The accompanying bio noted: "Manuela currently divides her time between Minneapolis and Toronto. She is married to Prince Roger Nelson." She included another note, which ended "Your unlikely pen-pal, Manuela." In a June e-mail Pollack, the PR woman, stressed: "As you already know, Manuela is a separate entity from her husband, Prince, and is doing some amazing work with her company Gamillah, Inc." Stay tuned to find out just how separate their personal lives are. >From the outside, marriage to Symbolina looks like it could be really hard work. http://www.startribune.co...77276.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NewPowerNewYork Mailing List website: Www.NPNY.Org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], in body place npny ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Questions/Help?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
