SEXUAL BLACKMAIL — WHAT SHE CLAIMS . . .

Just six weeks after giving birth to Angel in April 2007, Mel was dating Belafonte. Whirlwind? More like a hurricane.

Belafonte, now 41, was a film producer, who claimed (erroneously) to be related to legendary singer Harry Belafonte. Within weeks, he had married Mel.

Mel now explains her behaviour in court papers filed this week, which sought a restraining order against Belafonte, saying: ‘At the time of our marriage in June 2007 I was exactly two months from the birth of my second child.

‘At the time I was vulnerable. I was giving birth as a single mother, my self-esteem was very low and my hormones were way out of balance due to the pregnancy.

‘Respondent [Belafonte] rushed in to help me in every way . . .

‘However . . . he became controlling, manipulative and abusive. He proposed to me after a very short relationship. In hindsight I believe this kindness was in essence his way of “grooming” me given his recognition of my vulnerability stemming from my recent pregnancy.’

It soon came to light that Belafonte hadn’t declared his previous marriage to a woman known only as Nancy, who had the marriage annulled after less than 12 weeks amid claims he had been ‘emotionally abusive’.

A criminal conviction also emerged. In 2003, Belafonte was convicted for battering his former partner Nicole Contreras, mother of his young daughter. He was spared jail after taking part in a ‘Domestic Violence Batterers’ Programme’.

When these details came to light, Mel defended her husband, claiming the conviction was a misunderstanding. she said: ‘Everything I stand for is about being a strong, independent woman, so for him to be seen as a wife beater is devastating for me because he’s not — he never has been.’

In court documents this week, though, she wrote that she had been deceived. ‘At the time of our marriage I was unaware that Belafonte was not the Respondent’s legal surname, nor was I aware that he had been previously married.’

Regardless, Belafonte, it seems, quickly got to work — and arranged a vow renewal ceremony in Egypt in 2008, sponsored by OK! Magazine to attract maximum revenue.

But all was reportedly not well behind the scenes — and, according to Mel, her husband began blackmailing her to have threesomes with other women.

Mel said: ‘When I threatened to leave, Respondent [Belafonte] informed me that he has videos of our sex life and other private moments... I have lived the past decade in fear that Respondent would release intimate videos of me that would embarrass me and damage my reputation and my career.