Mel B settles with ex over violence claims
MEL B no longer faces the threat of videos of her sex life being made public after she reached a settlement with her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte.
The pair had been facing a twoweek trial over domestic violence claims as part of their divorce case, after the singer accused Mr Belafonte of physically and emotionally abusing her during their ten-year marriage.
The out- of- court settlement means their divorce can now go ahead.
Mr Belafonte’s legal team had been planning to use 56 videos as evidence in the trial, which was due to start on Monday.
A third of the videos were said to be of a sexual nature, while one claimed to show Mel B snorting cocaine.
Mr Belafonte said he was ‘the happiest guy in the world’ after the charges against him were withdrawn. A judge has now cancelled a temporary restraining order against him. The pair, both 42, married in 2007 but Mel B filed for divorce in March, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. The mother of three is now also expected to settle a case against her former nanny Lorraine Gilles, 25, who has claimed she had a seven-year affair with her.
In a statement, Mr Belafonte said: ‘I’m just leaving court, you know what I’ve got to tell you, I’m the happiest guy in the world today... I ‘I’m just glad the cloud of suspicion of domestic violence is no longer over my head.’