Mel B nanny wins £1.8m to settle ‘sex claims’ trial
MEL B has paid £1.8million to a former nanny she branded a ‘prostitute’.
The Spice Girl has settled out of court to avoid facing Lorraine Gilles, 27, her former employee and alleged lover, in a legal showdown in which salacious details of her personal life might have been heard in public.
Just weeks before the girlband’s comeback tour, the singer – real name Melanie Brown – has brought the lengthy legal battle to an end with the payout.
Miss Gilles had filed a defamation claim against Miss Brown, 43, two years ago and also attempted to sue her for legal fees incurred after the singer took out a restraining order against her.
The new settlement prevents any details of Miss Brown’s marriage to ex-husband Stephen Belafonte, also 43, being revealed in court.
Miss Brown had previously called Miss Gilles a ‘prostitute’ and a ‘homewrecker’ in court papers filed amid her divorce battle with Belafonte.
She also alleged that the nanny had become pregnant by her exhusband and that she took part in a threesome with the couple, an allegation denied by Miss Gilles and Mr Belafonte. In terms of the settlement, a source said that ‘Mel was just happy to clear this mess up once and for all’.
Both sides agreed that ‘keeping the matter under wraps was best for all. Things were said in court papers in the heat of a divorce, which exploded into this lawsuit.
‘But in recent weeks their frost has thawed, with them even meeting to work out their differences’.
The settlement also puts an end to worries the rest of the Spice Girls, or Mel’s other celebrity friends, could be dragged on to the witness stand.
The insider added: ‘After the Geri controversy [ in which Mel B alleged the pair had slept together], the last thing she wanted was the
‘Didn’t want band probed on sex life’
rest of the band on the stand being probed all about her sex life.’
Miss Brown was facing mounting legal costs and might have had to pay £5million in damages had the case gone to court. In legal papers, Miss Gilles claims she had been Miss Brown’s lover for seven years, which started during her employment.
Last year Miss Brown lost an appeal to prevent a jury trial over the defamation claims but LA Superior Court Judge Dalila Lyons urged the pair to settle out of court.