Mel: I won’t let him have my millions

She’s raging after Belafonte demands she pays legal fees

MEL B is furious that her estranged husband is trying to get his hands on her cash after he demanded she pay his legal fees in their bitter divorce.

Stephen Belafonte, 41, filed his official response to the star’s divorce petition and wants a slice of her £48million fortune.

In Mel’s application for a restraining order against Belafonte, father of her youngest child, the ex-Spice Girl claimed he had “taken millions of dollars”.

And a source said: “Mel is furious he is asking for money from her.”

Belafonte’s response, filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, came after Mel alleged he subjected her to years of beatings, made her take part in threesomes and blackmailed her with secret videos of the romps.

Mel, 41, also claimed Belafonte had an affair with their nanny Lorraine Gilles and she became pregnant with his child before having an abortion.

The source said: “It wasn’t only the accusation of violence and sexual exploitation she was granted a restraining order over but also the details she provided about how he abused her money.

“She says not only did he take millions from her, he also was giving her money – unbeknown to her – away to Lorraine and her husband Michael Bleau.

“His spending was so bad she had to tell her accountant any payment of $5000 or more needed her personal authorisation.

“She claims Belafonte was able to get around it by logging into her emails and posing as her to give permission.

“Mel says he never had any meaningful employment and just lived off her.” When the star lodged divorce papers last month, she demanded the court deny Belafonte any financial assistance from her during proceedings.

She also demanded sole custody of their daughter Madison, five.

Belafonte contested the date the couple separated as US courts can enforce indefinite support to the lower-earning spouse if they were wed for more than a decade.

Our source said Mel called off the marriage before their 10-year anniversary to prevent convicted criminal Belafonte “living off her money for life”.