SPICE Girl Mel B has revealed how she was left so broke after leaving an abusive marriage that she went shopping at discount stores Lidl and Costco to save money.
Melanie Brown (48) returned to her native Leeds in 2019 – a year after her divorce from abusive ex Stephen Belafonte.
7
Mel B has opened up about the financial struggles she faced after leaving abusive ex Stephen Belafonte Credit: Olivia West – Commissioned by The Sun
7
She went from living with the stars to shopping at LidlCredit: Olivia West – commissioned by The Sun
7
We all know Mel as Scary Spice but she became Sparkling Spice when she returned to Leeds after spending hours cleaning Credit: Rex Features
7
Mel with her children and Stephen’s daughter Giselle in 2018. Credit: Shutterstock
But she was so exhausted after ten years of marriage that she was forced to move into mom Andrea’s bungalow with her three children.
Mel, who has earned more than £80million in her career, says: “People will assume, ‘She’s rich, she’s a Spice Girl’.
“But I went from performing to thousands at Wembley on the Spice Girls’ 13-date 2019 tour to tucking in at my mum’s while my kids slept in bed with me.
“I didn’t expect it to happen in my 40s after a successful career, but I had nowhere to go.
“Because I was hit hard financially by my relationship, I had to pick up the pieces.”
When Melanie Brown walked out of her abusive 10-year marriage in 2017, she had just £700 in the bank and expensive divorce and custody battles.
It took her five years to save up the money to move out of her mum’s, and she finally traded in a converted West Yorkshire country house earlier this month.
Although Mel built a successful career during her 10-year stay in Los Angeles, appearing on the US version of Strictly, Dancing With The Stars and as a judge on America’s Got Talent, she claims she lost control of her fortune while married to film producer Belafonte, 48 .
Sparkling spice
But after the split, Mel rebuilt herself.
She was a Seahorse on The Masked Singer in 2021, is a judge on the Australian version of the show, and returned to the America’s Got Talent judging panel this year.
Mel B is unmasked as The Seahorse in The Masked Singer
She adds: “Fortunately, I have always been diligent. I thoroughly enjoy my job and threw myself into it.
“I spend a lot of time talking to victims of abuse and I want to show that abuse, including financial abuse, can happen to anyone and you can build support.”
Mel recalls how she went from a loft flat in LA, a ten-bed hovel in Marlow, Bucks, and owning an impressive collection of furniture and art, to shopping the thrift stores weekly.
She says, “I haven’t bought a pint of milk in LA in years.
“But at home I was buying in bulk from Costco and I really started shopping at Aldi and Lidl.
After being in an abusive relationship for years, you really need to rebuild yourself inside and out
Mel B
“It was the time of Covid and I would put a mask on my face and no one would recognize me.
“For the first time in a long time, I stood in line. Nobody blinked.
“After being in an abusive relationship for years, you really have to rebuild yourself inside and out. No one can do it but you.
“Having to do the budget again and find out how much a packet of crisps costs, it felt like I was getting my power back.
“I felt I was back to my roots in Leeds and I never forgot where I came from.”
Mel also switched from Scary Spice to Sparkling Spice.
She says: “I like to clean. If something abnormal is going on, like I’m fighting in court, steaming the floors or doing laundry makes me feel normal and OK.
“I’ve tried every floor steamer. It gives me instant pleasure to see how clean something is.”
Amazingly, the singer became so isolated in LA that there were everyday things she had no idea about.
She says, “I would say to people, ‘Do you know there’s a service called Amazon that delivers to your door?’ And they would say: ‘Of course!’
“But I didn’t have access to a credit card during my relationship and I was working 24/7.”
Mel, who received an MBE in 2022 for her work as patron of domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, says of her time with Belafonte: “I’ve always looked after my own money, but over time I didn’t worry about money because I eyes worried about it.
“But then I realized, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to have to start from scratch, Ground Zero.'”
Scary Spice admits that even when she was cocooned in her mum’s bungalow, with her ex thousands of miles away, she struggled to shake off the trauma of that relationship.
She says: “The past five years of living with my mom have been intense.
“When you’re in an abusive relationship, it affects your whole family and for a while I was very angry with my mum.
You have to rebuild those relationships and living in that little bungalow saved ours because there was no way out
Mel B
“I asked myself, ‘Why didn’t you come get me when I was with Stephen?’
“But I didn’t know that he was calling her and yelling at her, and she didn’t know how to reach me.
7
Mel has a daughter Phoenix from her previous marriage to dancer Jimmy GulzarCredit: Jay Mawson for Pour Moi
“You have to rebuild those relationships, and living in that little bungalow saved ours because there was no escape.
“We joked that it was like Last Of Summer Wine and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
“My mom would say: ‘But you left him, you’re away, you’re fine’. But it’s not like that.
“A friend once asked me what it was like to be in my head.
“The only way I could describe it is that it’s like being in a house where the baby is crying, but you can never find the room where the baby is.
“I am a work in progress. But look how far I’ve come.
“A few years ago, if the door had slammed, I would have jumped out of my skin.” Now I’m thinking, ‘It’s just a door.'”
How you can get help
Women’s Aid has the following advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Learn about the silent solution, by reporting abuse without speaking into the handset, instead of dialing “55”.
- Always have some cash with you, including change for a payphone or bus ticket.
- If you suspect that your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a less risky part of the house – for example, where there is an exit and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where knives or other weapons are likely to be found. Avoid rooms where you could become trapped, such as a bathroom or where you could be locked in a closet or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, the SupportLine is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during a crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid offers a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am to 6pm and weekends from 10am to 6pm.
You can also call the free 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
The pain continues
Separation from youngest child Madison has been a constant pain since courts ruled after expensive custody battles that, as a US citizen, the 12-year-old must live with dad Belafonte, who also has a daughter, Giselle, 19.
Mel, also mother to 16-year-old Angel from her romance with actor Eddie Murphy and Phoenix, 25, from her previous marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar, now only sees Madison during school holidays.
She says, “It’s like having your arm cut off. She is my baby. I’ve spent a fortune on legal battles, but at least she spends large chunks of time here.
“In the eyes of the court, I am a big earner and I have to pay his court fees as well as my own.
“Through my work on behalf of Women’s Aid I campaigned for the court system to better understand financial abuse.”
In August 2018, Mel reached a divorce settlement that included dropping all allegations of abuse.
Her fiance, hairdresser Rory McPhee (36) from Leeds, played a key role in rebuilding her confidence.
He says: “He is a family friend and I have known him for a long time. Thus there was a foundation of trust and respect.
“And he’s a great hairdresser! When I returned home in 2019, he nurtured my curls and at the same time nurtured my trust and affection, and it just grew little by little.
Rory can’t even fathom how anyone would raise their voice at a woman in the first place
Mel B
“I kept pushing him away saying ‘I’m damaged goods’.
“But Rory can’t even fathom how anyone would raise their voice at a woman. He has a great influence on me. If I get manic, he can calm me down.”
This year marks three decades since the Spice Girls formed and there are rumors of a reunion, although Sporty Spice (Mel C) yesterday claimed it was just talk.
Mel B adds: “All our mums agree. If we have a little fight or get excited about something, it seems like all moms are the first to know everything.
“My mom will say, ‘I just spoke to Pauline (Baby Spice’s mother Emma Bunton) and I hear you’re working . . . ‘”
Her bandmates always supported her.
She says: “Emma was blown away when she read my book (2018 memoir Brutally Honest).
“But there was nothing she or any of them could do, I lied to everyone about my relationship, including myself.”
Mel says the band recently supported Ginger Spice (Geri Horner) who stood by her husband, Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner, amid an investigation into claims – which he vehemently denies – that he sent suggestive messages to a colleague.
Mel says, “We have a WhatsApp group and we’ve sent messages.”
Mel has a full diary this year, but many engagements seem to be a far cry from her jet-setting Spice days.
She says: “I’m going to Buckingham Palace in a few weeks for an International Women’s Day event with the Queen.
“Later in the year I’m addressing the Women’s Institute at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s crazy, I’m joining the Jam and Jerusalem crowd.”
Mel’s updated Brutally Honest, written with Louise Gannon (Quadrille, £10.99), was republished in March.
Exclusive parts are in this week’s Sun on Sunday.
7
Mel B with Caroline Iggulden of The Sun Credit: Olivia West – commissioned by The Sun
7
A re-released version of Mel B’s Brutally Honest is out March 3 Credits: Delivered
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education