Mel B: 'I' m Finally free'

Reconnecting with her family gave Spice Girl Mel the strength to leave Stephen Belafonte

- Jack White

On Monday 20 March Mel B officially ended 10 years of marriage to Stephen Belafonte, filing for divorce and citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.

It’s fair to say theirs was a fiery relationship but Mel, 41, had always publicly stood by her husband. In May last year she insisted: ‘There are always rumours we’re splitting up. I’ve already had one failed marriage so I definitely don’t want to have another one.’ But less than a year on, the former Spice Girl has made a complete U-turn, filing papers at the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Their relationship has been the subject of much speculation over the years. In 2014 Mel was even forced to deny claims movie producer Stephen, also 41, was violent and had held her hostage, and it’s widely thought Mel’s bitter feud with her family – who she’s recently reconnected with – was caused by their marriage.

When her dad Martin Brown sadly lost his battle with cancer on 4 March, his shock death, Now understands, came as a wake-up call to Mel.