Prince's ex-wife furious as judge allows divorce settlement documents to be unsealed

Documents regarding the divorce of US singer Prince and his ex-wife Manuela Testolini will be unsealed on 13 January 2017.

Judge Thomas S Fraser ruled in favour of newspaper Minneapolis Star Tribune that details regarding Prince and Testolini's 2006 divorce are in the interest of the public following the singer's death in April 2016. The Hennepin County District judge also blocked Testolini's request to stay his order while an appeal is lodged on her behalf.

In her argument against the unsealing, Testolini, who married the late Purple Rain singer in 2001, claimed she would be exposed to harrassment if the documents were made open to the public. Prince's former spouse requested that financial information and names of spiritual counsellors involved in the divorce proceedings are not revealed.

Prince's half-brother Omarr Baker and Bremer Trust, the administrator handling the late musician's estate, agreed with Testolini that financial information or anything that could affect the reputation or value of Prince's estate are also kept private.

Although Fraser ordered that some details which the newspaper did not specifically request are to be kept sealed, almost the entire document will be released. Explaining his decision to unseal the papers, Fraser said: "While most parties to a divorce would prefer that the details be kept private, the divorce process is a public one, requiring public courts and resources to manage the proceeding and either determine or approve the result. The public has an interest in monitoring courts and their enforcement of divorce decrees."

The Kiss singer and his second wife are believed to have had an amicable split and she remembered him fondly after news of his death broke. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the time, Testolini said she was "heartbroken beyond words" at her ex-husband's passing, adding: "Prince and I had a magical journey together and I loved him immensely. I knew him as a husband, friend and fierce philanthropist. Philanthropy brought us together and it was Prince that encouraged me to start my own charity over 10 years ago."

Prince died at the age of 57 on 21 April 2016 after accidentally overdosing on powerful painkiller fentanyl.