The Samsung Hope for Children gala last night in downtown New York was a star-studded tuxedo affair with a guest list that included Bill Clinton, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick, Jr. But, perhaps symbolically, the singer Jason Mraz arrived at the event wearing a purple bandana. "This was gifted to me by a shaman in Peru," he confessed. "The name Jason means healer, which I've really taken on in the last few years (and) I want my music and my mission to stand for healing. When I sit down to write a song, I really want the message of healing to thrive and transcend all ages."
And then the singer of the hit song "I'm Yours" revealed why he himself needs to heal. Mraz told The Daily Beast exclusively that he'd recently split up with his fiancée, 29-year-old singer Tristan Prettyman. "My greatest mistake right now is, I've been clinging to my art," he said. "In that, I have victory for my art and a great loss for my heart. At the moment, my beautiful fiancée is no longer my beautiful fiancée."
Mraz, 33, explained (see embedded video) what led to the breakup. "Two halves don't make a whole," he said. "Two wtholes make a whole. In my relationship, I was giving myself away to make the relationship better, but in actuality, wasn't doing better by doing that. I became less of a man."
Mraz popped the question to Prettyman last December after a lengthy on-again, off-again relationship that included a previous split, in 2006. "SHE SAID YES," he tweeted on Dec. 24. He surprised Prettyman with a 2.3-carat diamond ring on the beach, "under a blanket of stars and a watchful bright moon," as he later described on his blog. In January, he explained to US Weekly why Prettyman, a singer-songwriter, was the one for him. "You just know," he said. "We grew up to be each other's dream person. She is definitely my dream girl."
He added last night: "We are still super friends, we go to yoga together, we surf together. We acknowledge the journey that each of us is on. We certainly want each of us to feel whole and complete. And it's when you're whole and complete that that attraction exists and it really thrives.
"The good news is that no matter what—" he paused and glanced to the side—"I'm looking over here, because I think my publicist is freaking out."