Singer Mel B’s 10 year marriage to Stephen Belafonte is coming to an end and the accusations behind their demise are troubling to say the least.
They tied the knot in 2007, renewed their vows in 2008 and then welcomed their only child together, daughter, Madison, in 2011. The former Spice Girl and her soon-to-be-ex have had their ups and downs, including claims of domestic violence and infidelity.
They announced their divorce in early April, with the 41-year-old claiming her ex was extremely “abusive, hostile and violent,” according to Page Six.
Here is everything we know about their crumbling marriage:
1. He was once the the only man she ever trusted.
In 2009, shortly after Mel B, born Melanie Brown, split with ex Eddie Murphy, Belafonte swept the singer off her feet and she said that he was the “beginning and end” of who she is.
“He’s the first man I’ve ever trusted,” she once told Hello Magazine. “At the time, I was vulnerable. I was giving birth as a single mother, my self-esteem was very low, and my hormones were out of balance due to the pregnancy.’’
She said that meeting Belafonte was unexpected and he appeared like an angel, seemingly saving her from herself and proposed after a short courtship.
2. The alleged abuse started shortly after their marriage.In 2007, the singer claims that their marital bliss was cut short after her new groom “placed both hands around her neck, began choking her and slammed her down onto the hardwood floors.”
3. Belafonte allegedly attacked her after a jealous rage.
While filming for the X Factor Australia, Brown alleges that Belafonte flew into a jealous rage after seeing the singer film a segment with Usher.
“On the evening of the taping, [Stephen] flew into a rage claiming that I had been flirting with Usher all day.” According to documents reported by TMZ, at the time, Belafonte punched Brown with a closed fist and split her lip. “I asked [Stephen] how I was supposed to work with a swollen lip, and he told me that I should have thought of that before I decided I wanted to ‘flirt with and f***’ Usher.”
Want more daily celeb, beauty and style news? Subscribe to our newsletter now!4. In 2014, Belafonte allegedly left her to die after a suicide attempt.
Brown says there is a reason she had to pull out of The X Factor finale, a UK reality series on which she appears as a judge. Court documents say that the singer attempted to overdose on aspirin after “a moment of emotional and physical exhaustion.” After feeling regret, she tried to phone the authorities for help but the producer locked her in a bedroom with no access to a phone and telling her to “die b—h.”
5. She claims he impregnanted their nanny.
Their rollercoaster marriage wasn’t exempt from fidelity. Brown says that Belafonte–whose real name is Stephen Stansbury–impregnanted their German nanny Lorraine, forced the 26-year-old to get an abortion in 2014 and used Brown’s money to pay her excessive amounts of money for her nanny dutties during her seven year employment.
“(He) would degrade me in front of her by comparing me to Lorraine, telling me how much younger and better looking she was.” she detailed. “I later discovered that (he) was having sex with Lorraine and was paying her inordinate amounts of money. Over the course of some three years, I recently learned that (he) paid Lorraine in excess of $300,000 for alleged nanny services.”
Brown also alleges that her ex tried to sexually blackmail her and requested threesomes and other sexual acts.
6. She almost didn’t make it to her father’s deathbed.
On Instagram, the singer revealed that her father lost his five year battle with multiple myeloma cancer in March. In court documents, she claims that Belafonte tried to derail her travel plans to the UK by hiding her passport so she couldn’t say her goodbyes to her dying dad.
“If he’s going to die, he’s going to die,” the papers claim he said. Belafonte told Brown to “suck it up,” before she finally made it to a Yorkshire hospital to be by her father’s side with her sister Danielle.
7. Me’s sister Danielle says her former brother-in-law attempted to keep the singer from her family.
Mel’s only sibling took to Instagram to say that Belafonte is a, “sorry excuse for a man.”
“@stephenthinks11 8 years of abusive calls me and my mum have had stating we would never see Melanie again.I am laughing and celebrating as you were wrong.you are a sorry excuse of a man !! To the left to the left everything you own in the box to the left I hope you Lorraine Giles and Michael Bleu go to jail and rot in hell !!”
Belafonte’s lawyers have claimed that all of Brown’s claims are unfounded and outrageous and released a statement that Brown has created a completely “false depiction of [their] marriage.”
“What matters most to Mr. Belafonte is the safety and well-being of his daughters and step-daughters,” the statement reads. “It’s a shame that Ms. Brown elected not to proceed in a respectful and amicable fashion in this very private matter. In due course, Mr. Belafonte will be filing his response to the outrageous and unfounded allegations made by Ms. Brown, which allegations he vehemently denies.”
The statement goes on to say, “when the Court determines the truth, it will become clear that this entire charade was nothing more than a smear campaign intended to cover up Ms. Brown’s own conduct during the marriage in light of her current involvement with a family television show, and in an effort to unfairly gain leverage both financially and with respect to custody of the children,” and “When the degree to which Ms. Brown has gone to create a false depiction of her marriage to Mr. Belafonte is uncovered, real victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse will be understandably offended, angry and upset. Mr. Belafonte is confident that the truth will come out when he has his day in court at which time he looks forward to being reunited with his children. In the meantime, Mr. Belafonte requests that he and his children be given the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
