CAN MEL B BREAK HER CYCLE OF TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS?
● She tells how ex-husband Stephen Belafonte drove her to attempted suicide and left her penniless ● Friends say she has endured a series of destructive romances because of her fierce loyalty ● Sources reveal she’s determined to change her path
She was seen covered in bruises during
The X Factor
live shows in 2014 – and Mel B sensationally revealed last week they were the result of her terrifying suicide attempt to escape her allegedly abusive ten-year marriage to Stephen Belafonte.
Waking up in hospital with her eldest child, Phoenix Chi, 19, beside her after taking nearly 200 aspirin pills, Mel recalls in her new autobiography, Brutally Honest, “It was the saddest moment of my life. All I ever want is for her to know how sorry I am, how lost I was and how I’ll never, ever abandon her again.”
At her lowest ebb, the singer – who reportedly will pay Stephen £6.5m to finalise their messy divorce – reveals she was snorting six lines of cocaine a day when working as a judge on The X Factor four years ago.
But as the 43-year-old Spice Girl attempts to rebuild her life following her bitter divorce battle, which almost ruined her financially, insiders tell Closer she’s being supported by her close network of pals who are helping her bounce back.
A source says, “Mel’s been at rock bottom and she’s been relying on her close friends to help her pick up the pieces. It’s been an incredibly tough road, but she credits her America’s Got Talent co-star, Heidi Klum, and her fellow Spice Girls bandmates for helping her survive it all – they’ve constantly messaged her and are always there to offer emotional support.”
It was reported earlier this year how Mel’s AGT boss Simon Cowell upped her salary to £1.3m for the next series, while she’s set to cash-in on another £2.2m from the upcoming Spice Girls tour with Geri Halliwell, Mel Chisholm, and Emma Bunton next year.
‘CAMPAIGN OF ABUSE’
And friends say the mum-of-three – who admitted herself into rehab for post-traumatic stress disorder after accusing Stephen, 43, of a campaign of mental and physical abuse – is adamant she’ll get her mental health in check, too. The star claimed that during her ill-fated marriage, Stephen had forced her to have sex with other women in threesomes that he secretly filmed, threatening to release the footage in a bid to ruin her career, and reportedly punched her in jealous rages.
Stephen denied Mel’s claims of abuse when they first split in April 2017, with his lawyers claiming it was “nothing more than a smear campaign”.
The source says, “Mel’s been to hell and back, but she’s determined to turn it around for her sake and her kids. She knows what she needs to work on and, once her finances are in order, she wants to look after herself more and see if therapy and a relationship coach will help her feel like herself again.”
Mel’s marriage to Stephen – with whom she has six-yearold daughter Madison – isn’t the first toxic relationship she’s been involved in. In 2000, Mel endured a messy divorce battle with her first husband, dancer Jimmy Gulzar – who’s Phoenix’s father – and was forced to pay him a settlement of £2.1m. Jimmy recently blasted the singer for having “three children by three different men”.
TURBULENT
In 2006, she then endured a humiliating relationship breakdown from Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy when he initially denied he was the father of their now 11-year-old daughter, Angel.
Writing about her relationship with Eddie in her new book, she reveals they were “besotted with each other,” saying, “I loved this man, he loved me.” She goes on to describe the first time they had sex as “like poetry, every touch, every kiss every sense out of this world.” She admits she’d “never felt so loved.” The pair moved in together, but Mel dubs his
home a “gilded cage”, where she claims if she bought tampons it would get reported to “his people” and claims he had her watched on nights out with friends. She adds, “Nothing was really in my control.”
Now pals say Mel is trying to break her pattern of unhealthy relationships.
The source adds, “Mel’s fiercely loyal and sometimes gets sucked into the drama of turbulent relationships. She knows things need to change if she’s ever going to be happy again.
“She’s thinking of hiring a love coach in a bid to help her change both her own views on relationships, as well as the type of men she goes for. She’s hoping that with some professional help, as well as the support of her family and friends, she can finally start to put the painful past behind her and look forward to her future with a new outlook and mindset.”