MEL B has gone from Scary Spice to Sparkling Spice after picking up a new passion following her abuse hell.
The Spice Girl bravely opened up to The Sun in an exclusive chat this week about her abusive relationship with now-ex-husband Stephen Belafonte.
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Melanie Brown, 48, walked out on her 10-year marriage with just £700 in the bank and fled to her mum’s bungalow in native Leeds in 2019.
The singer was forced to rebuild her life following years of abuse and trauma.
Mel claims she didn’t have access to her money and said she became so isolated in LA that she didn’t even know about Amazon delivering to your doorstep.
In the difficult five years spent living with her mum and sharing a bed with three of her kids, Mel revealed she struggled to shake off the reality of what she’d been through.
But one thing that helped her cope, and still takes her mind off of things, is her love for cleaning.
Switching up from Scary Spice to Sparkling, Mel said tackling household chores helped her take back control of her own life.
She exclusively told The Sun: “I love cleaning. If there is something abnormal going on, like I am fighting in the courts, steaming the floors or doing laundry makes me feel normal and OK.
“I’ve tried out every steamer for floors. Seeing how clean something is gives me instant gratification.”
She added: “After being in an abusive relationship for years you really have to rebuild yourself inside and out.
“Nobody can do that apart from you.”
Mel, who has made 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 Reunion Tour in 2019 to squeezing into my mum’s with my kids sleeping in bed with me.
“I didn’t expect that to happen in my 40s after a successful career but I had nowhere else to go.
“Because I was so badly affected financially from my relationship, I had to pick up the pieces.”
I want to show abuse, including financial abuse, can happen to anyone, and you can build yourself back up
Mel B
It has taken her five years to save the cash to move out of her mum’s, and she finally exchanged on a converted farmhouse in West Yorkshire earlier this month.
Although Mel had carved out a successful career during her ten-year stint living in Los Angeles, appearing in 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.
However, she has started to rebuild her life – appearing on The Masked Singer in 2021 and becoming a judge on the show’s Australian version.
Mel also returned to the America’s Got Talent panel this year.
She adds: “Luckily, I have always been a hard worker. I thoroughly enjoy my job and have thrown myself into it.
“I spend a lot of time speaking to abuse survivors and I want to show abuse, including financial abuse, can happen to anyone, and you can build yourself back up.”
Mel reached a divorce settlement in August 2018 which involved all abuse charges being dropped.