Broke’ Spice Girl £1.8m Mel can be a pain but she’s got a good heart says Simon Cowell
events in the case. The couple had agreed they would divorce amicably but then Mel claimed she was the victim of “multiple physical beatings”.
She also accused her husband of threatening to destroy her career by releasing a sex tape.
One friend said: “Stephen is so confused and hurt as to why Mel would do this. Throughout their marriage they always said if they were to split they wouldn’t drag the kids into it and they would be civil for the children.
“They used to watch a lot of TV and if anything ever came up about divorce they would always agree and say they would never put their kids through any of that.” During her nine-year marriage to Stephen he had called her family the “cut-off crew”.
Debts
Madison is the child of Mel and Stephen while Mel has two more children each with different dads. Hollywood superstar Eddie Murphy, 56, is the father of her daughter Angel, ten. Her eldest, Phoenix Chi Gulzar, 18, is the child of ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar. Mel’s dire financial state was exposed in court earlier this year as it was claimed she racked up tax debts after making “improvident” financial decisions. The former couple were said to “never have money at the end of the year to pay their taxes”.
Grace Jamra, representing Stephen, said that while the couple led an extravagant and affluent lifestyle, Mel had wiped out all her Spice Girls cash, nearly £40million “if not more”.
Meanwhile, Jacalyn Davis, representing the Spice Girl, said the pair’s joint income “was being spent and then some”.
In courtrt papers Stephen has accused Mel of not co-operating with his legal team by not producingg evidence necessary to preparere his legal defence against her wide- ranging accusations.ons.
Mel claims to have photographic aphic evidence of Stephen’s’ s alleged domestic abuse. But ut he alleges Mel hasn’t provided his legal team with the photographs.ographs.
In thehe documents, filed Thursday, Stephen slammed Mel for attempting to block him visiting Angel, to whom he has acted like a dad. Stephen’s lawyer Grace Jamra said: “Mel continues to make mountains out of molehills all in an effort to alienate Angel from the only father she has ever known. “This despite the fact that prior to the commencement of this action, Mel agreed to allow StephenStep contact with Angel and Stephen in fact did h have contact with Angel and Madison, his biolog biological child. “Stephen does not intend to interfere w with the custodial right rights of e i t her of Ang Angel’s parents. “All that Step Stephen requests is thattha he be allo allowed r easonable contact with his stepdaughter to ensure that this tenyear-old child does not feel or believe that the only father figure she has ever known has abandoned her while he continues to see her little sister.”
The Sunday People has learnt that Stephen has accumulated 2,500 pieces of evidence in the looming divorce case. Mel has lodged only 50.
Restraining
A judge at Los Angeles superior court has dismissed Mel’s attempts to keep the case secret.
But the judge did agree to keep details regarding the children, including their parents’ visiting schedules, out of open court.
A hearing that was originally scheduled for September 25 in the restraining order case has been bumped back to October 30.
Stephen and Mel each have to sit down for depositions leading up to the hearing – on October 10 for him and October 16 for her,