Jill Jones has finally broken her years-long silence about her relationship with Prince, reflecting on how, while they truly loved each other, their relationship was always complicated.
Prince and Jill Jones' relationship had been through the wringer, so when she sat down to share her memories of Prince for a new Netflix documentary, little did she know she would be unravelling a firestorm. Jill shared a long and complicated relationship with the late musician. However, her testimony, along with others, was never released after Prince's estate decided that it would cause "generational harm" to his image. Now, on the 10th anniversary of his death this week, Jill is ready to reveal what really happened between them and give fans an insight into their relationship. So, let's take a quick look at what happened between Prince and Jill.
In a recent interview with The Mirror, Jill Jones reflected on what happened in 1984. She revealed that she and a friend of hers went to see Prince at a hotel. However, an argument broke out between them when Jill felt jealous after he started kissing her friend, leading her to slap the singer. Nonetheless, things got out of hand, and Prince started punching her over and over in the face. She recalled wanting to press charges but was warned against it by Prince's circle. She was quoted as saying:
"I was told I would ruin his career…. They saw him as just money for them. They could make a lot of money. It just shows me how many people benefit. Had I come forward…it wouldn’t have happened. But basically, after that, we made up because I had surgery, and he gave me a ton of toys. This is how the apology was: balloons, toys, and candy. It was really hard for us not to be around each other. He always thought I would be there. He would always say: 'I'm always gonna know you.'"
In the same conversation, Jill revealed that she had been wrestling with the idea of opening up about the incident for more than three decades. She admitted that she stayed quiet because she hoped Prince would apologise. She revealed that she had seen violence growing up, and also pointed out how Prince's parents, John Nelson and Mattie Shaw, too, had a volatile relationship. She was quoted as saying:
"See, this is the craziest thing with domestic violence: you wait for an apology sometimes from someone that you love, you think they’re going to, and they want to move on and not talk about it, and you allow it. It was an era of time where men did knock around their wives. It was just something that happened. It took me years to maybe get over that. But I also forgive him for that, because he’s just a product of a time, although I’m not trying to make excuses."
Jill revealed that after the incident, it felt as if her relationship with Prince had been reduced to that moment alone. For the unversed, Jill met Prince when she was just a teenager during the singer's 1980 Dirty Mind Tour, while singing the backing vocals for Teena Marie. Prince later invited Jill to Sunset Sound Studios in 1982 to sing backing vocals on 1999, where she was credited under her initials, J.J. Jill revealed that she was singing for everyone. However, she felt neglected because no one knew it was her.
Eventually, Jill decided to walk away from the limelight. However, breaking the news to Prince was not easy. She revealed, "I FedExed back a whole bag of the jewellery he gave to me, and the conversation wasn't great. It was flaming hot. It was epic. I was in New York, and I had fallen in love with someone." She later decided to build a new life in Europe, away from the music industry and Prince, but their story was nowhere near over.
A few weeks before Prince died, she saw him again at an after-party following a US show at 1 am. It was the first time they had properly spoken in years. She recalled how his face lit up when he saw her. She admitted that she wanted to see him because it was important. However, she felt extremely nervous. Nonetheless, her fears turned into something else when she saw Prince; something about him unsettled her. She shared, "He was so thin and so little. I said, 'Oh my God. I hope we’re not coming to his funeral next.'" Not long after, her fears were realised, as the musician passed away.
Jill revealed that she was watching CNN and speaking to her daughter, who was living in London, when the news of Prince's passing came through. She recalled being devastated because she thought they were "all at the point again where we were able to talk to each other now that we’re all so much older." She revealed that this was why she was upset about Prince's documentary being shelved, as for her, Prince was never simple, and the estate was trying to erase parts of his life. She was quoted as saying:
"They want to keep him in a little bag….a little category. And they’re actually making it more than what it was, because when you deprive people of knowing something, it eventually comes out."
What are your thoughts on Jill Jones' revelation about her relationship with Prince?
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