The Shocking Reason Why Former Spice Girl Mel B Went Broke

Mel B, also known as Melanie Brown, achieved success early on in her career being a former member of the iconic British girl group Spice Girls in the 1990s.

She would eventually start a solo music career and make a name for herself through judging American and British talent competitions.

Her total earnings from these various endeavors total up to more than $100 million but she would find herself totally broke in 2017 after a nasty divorce from her second husband Stephen Belafonte.

An Abusive Marriage

The couple met at the set of a movie in early 2017. They eventually got married just a few months later after a whirlwind romance.

Mel B spills the harrowing details of her relationship with ex-husband Belafonte in her book “Brutally Honest” which was released in 2018.

According to her, she had a good career and hold of her finances when she met her abusive ex but would leave the marriage with just less than $1,000 in her bank account.

In their divorce trial, Mel B accused Belafonte of emotionally and physically abusing her during their 10-year marriage. She also attributed the dwindling of her fortune to Belafonte insistence of controlling her finances.

The singer turned host further revealed how Belafonte slowly but surely took away her independence by isolating her from her friends and family and changing her banking details without her knowledge.

What more, she said that he made her feel worthless and ugly leading her to view him as a “monster”.

This, together with the death of her father, later on, led her to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Getting Her Freedom Back

Mel B is now once again a happy single mother to her three daughters.

Eventually, Mel B would find the strength to leave her abusive husband and filed for divorce in 2017.

Although she left with nothing but $1,000, some suitcases of clothes and books, she was happy to get her freedom back and be able to start fresh together with her children.

The 43-year-old is the mother to three daughters from her previous relationship. Her youngest, Madison,7, is the only one she shared with Belafonte. Meanwhile, Angel Iris, 11, and Phoenix Chi, 19, were born from her previous relationships to Eddie Murphy and Jimmy Gulzar respectively.

Remembering An Old Flame

She also revealed formerly unknown details about her ill-fated love affair with Murphy, who she describes to be “the one that got away”.

Their highly publicized relationship in 2006 ended with Murphy publicly “dumping” her while she was still pregnant with their daughter Angel. It was known that Murphy had doubts about the child’s paternity at the time of their split but would eventually recognize her as his.

What’s In Store For Scary Spice’s Future

Fortunately, the future seems bright for Mel B’s career.

Just last year, a Spice Girl reunion tour was announced on Instagram and Twitter. She, together with other band members Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, and Melanie C, would reunite for a series of six-date stadium concerts in the United Kingdom this 2019.

However, Victoria Beckham won’t be joining them for still unclear reasons but nevertheless expressed support for her former bandmates.