Nia Long is looking back at the time Prince allegedly tried to make a move, but the actress says she had no idea she was being approached by one of music’s most legendary heartthrobs.
During an appearance on Angie Martinez’s “IRL” podcast, Long recalled wearing a pair of “Kenneth Cole black snake embossed shoes” on the night “Prince tried to talk to me, and I didn’t know it was Prince.”
Long said the late music icon grabbed her hand, but she pulled away because she did not recognize him in the moment. It was not until she got to the car that her friend finally told her who he was.
“She goes, ‘Girl, you know that was Prince,’” Long said. “I go, ‘Why didn’t you tell me before we left the building?’”
When asked what she would have done differently, Long admitted, “Well, if I knew it was Prince, I would have just turned around and said hello.”
Years later, Long said she crossed paths with Prince again after becoming an actress, but the energy had changed.
“He was lovely, but he talked about my hair the whole time cause he liked my haircut,” she shared. “He was no longer shooting a shot. He was not.”
The story quickly adds another layer to Prince’s long-running reputation as one of entertainment’s most magnetic figures. The “Purple Rain” superstar, who died in 2016 at age 57, was famously private, but his name was often linked to some of the most stunning and talented women in music, film, and pop culture.
Prince was married twice. His first wife was dancer and singer Mayte Garcia, whom he married in 1996. He later married philanthropist Manuela Testolini in 2001, with their divorce finalized in 2007.
His romantic history and creative world also included several high-profile women. Carmen Electra has credited Prince with discovering her and giving her the stage name that made her famous. Sheila E. was both a collaborator and former love interest. Meanwhile, Vogue named women like Vanity, Apollonia, Sheila E., Mayte Garcia, and Misty Copeland among the muses connected to Prince’s creative legacy.
Long’s missed moment may be funny in hindsight, but it also proves Prince’s charm was so quiet and unexpected that sometimes even Nia Long did not see it coming.
