The Spice Girls singer says she 'ate humble pie' by having to move back in with her mom in 2017.
Mel B is opening up about feeling "powerless" and having to move in with her mom after leaving her tumultuous marriage to Stephen Belafonte in 2017.
The Spice Girls singer -- whose real name is Melanie Brown -- recently talked with BBC about the embarrassment she felt after leaving California and traveling thousands of miles to her hometown of Leeds, where she moved into her mom's bungalow.
At the time of their separation, the America's Got Talent judge, 48, claimed that Belafonte, 48, abused her physically throughout their marriage. Beyond her previous statements, she is now talking about what she calls "financial abuse," as well.
"I wasn't just emotionally and physically abused, there was all the financial abuse, too. I didn't realize that I didn't have as much money as I thought I had. So I literally had to eat humble pie, live with my mum," she told BBC.
Belafonte, a film producer, has repeatedly denied her claims since she first spoke out, calling them "outrageous and unfounded."
Despite being on a sold-out tour with the Spice Girls when she decided to move home, Mel B said that she had to learn to live "frugally" in the years after their divorce -- including shopping on a budget and only recently being able to afford a house by herself. Divorce records show that the singer was ordered to pay Belafonte $350,000 as part of their settlement and $5,000 a month in child support for their daughter, Madison, 12. The singer has two other children, Phoenix, 25, and Angel, 16, from previous relationships.
While out of the marriage for several years now, she says she is still finding herself and her way back to normalcy.
"My mum was the kind of person that would say, 'Oh you've left him now, you're fine'. But that couldn't be further from the truth," she told the outlet. "It's like starting all over again. You have to learn to trust people. You have to learn to trust yourself."
Financially speaking, Mel B says that she has been able to recover and finally was able to purchase a home in February after five years of working "bloody hard."
"I've been looking at houses on and off for the last couple of years, knowing I didn't have the money to afford them," she explained. "But I just put my head down, worked and lived frugally, and hence, I've been able to buy my own house."
Now she is setting her sights on speaking up for those who feel powerless like she once felt. She is working to change the laws and policies around abuse and give more of a voice to those who are in a position of struggle.
"I'm the voice of all the other survivors out there that don't have a voice, that can't be heard, that can't get their point across, especially when it comes to things like trying to change the justice system and trying to enforce more laws that are more supportive to people that are coming out of an abusive situation," she said.
Mel B says she is also focusing on her upcoming wedding to hairstylist Rory McPhee, who she got engaged to in 2022. The couple is planning to tie the knot at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. While she has yet to pick out her dress, Mel B says that having her Spice Girls band member, Victoria Beckham, design the gown is certainly on the table.
"She'd love to," she said.
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