Prince Struggled With Stomach And Throat Pain? Musician’s Personal Chef Insists Late Singer Never Abused Drugs Or Painkillers

Prince struggled with acute stomach and throat pain before his death, revealed his long-time chef. The late musician had begun requesting for lighter meals which were easier to digest, as he battled his sickness, he added. The chef even insisted that Prince never abused drugs or pain killers.

Ray Roberts, Prince’s personal chef, told The Associated Press that the performer struggled with his health privately. The persona he put up in front of the audience was far different from the internally troubled one he hid from the public’s eye. While he was still enthralling his audiences with his captivating performances, and hosting parties at his Paisley Park studio, he did not let the world know of his internal struggles with a steadily deteriorating health. There were very few, if any, outward signs in his final months that anything was wrong.

Offstage, Prince was a very different person. Bouts of stomach and throat pain had started to harass him, shared Roberts. The musician had started requesting small portions and light meals which weren’t a burden on his fragile digestive system. He started wanting meals that were easier to digest. Moreover, his throat routinely felt very sore, preventing him from enjoying a decent meal. His stomach was upset with ever increasing frequency, forcing the singer to cut down not just his meals, but even his water intake, shared Roberts,

“[Prince] wasn’t the man I saw nearly every night. Not even a hint. Not at all. He was eating less and drinking less water, and looked like he was losing weight. It felt like he wasn’t himself probably the last month or two. I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot.”

Prince was a vegetarian and never ate meat. He normally loved foods like roasted beets, pesto broccolini dish, minestrone soup with a harissa chermoula, an herb sauce from North Africa, shared Roberts,

“I don’t know if it was just an unwritten rule, but there was no meat there — ever. If somebody wanted to eat meat, they would have to eat it in the parking lot. And he was very serious about this.”

However, in recent times, Prince didn’t ask the chef for his favorite foods. Instead, he increasingly began requesting smoothies and fresh juices to soothe his throat or stomach.

The chef revealed Prince had begun to routinely have sore throats and it seemed like he wasn’t feeling well for “weeks at a time.” However, there was no reason to suspect something was terribly wrong with the singer, who continued to give mesmerizing performances with just a piano and a microphone, reported Yahoo. Even his audience, who saw Prince’s final performance at Paisley Park only days before he died, couldn’t tell if Prince was struggling with his health. While a few felt Prince appeared more tired than usual, none suspected anything concerning. Roberts noted that even while he was away from the stage, Prince would “soldier through and work.”

“It was amazing. I don’t think I ever saw him really looking bad ever. He was always on point.”

The usual suspects like stomach bugs and sore throats are pretty common in the stubbornly cold Minnesota winter, and to the public, there was little to suggest something was amiss, reported Hollywood Reporter.

Prince's Chef Says Singer Fought Throat and Stomach Pain Before Death https://t.co/MnQPqw7eZn pic.twitter.com/qQiuFOGhEA

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 1, 2016

Roberts had been Prince’s personal chef for almost three years. Roberts and his wife had won Prince’s heart in 2013 after an informal tryout with several other chefs. The musician’s place has a restaurant-grade kitchen, and it was a delight cooking for the talented performer, added Roberts, who would usually receive requests for light salads and soups.

The chef saw Prince nearly every day, as he cooked for him for all days except Sundays and sometimes even then. However, in all these years, he never witnessed any drug use, he insists. Drugs were “not at all” a part of the singer-songwriter’s daily life, as far as Roberts knew, reported Miss Open. Incidentally, Roberts was one of the last people to see Prince alive.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]