Mel B has admitted she couldn’t buy her own milk and had no idea what Amazon was when she walked away from her marriage to Stephen Belafonte.
When Spice Girl Melanie, 48, walked away from her marriage to Stephen in 2018, she had just £700 in her bank account with her legal bills amid her ongoing divorce battle.
ohover the years Mel B accused him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, claims he denies.
After living with her mother in her bungalow in Leeds, Mel saved up for five years and moved into a converted farmhouse in West Yorkshire this month.
But she has had to relearn daily skills such as managing her own finances and budgeting for a weekly shop, as she claims she lost control of such matters while in her relationship with Stephen.
Mel B admitted she couldn’t buy her own milk and had no idea what Amazon was when she walked away from her marriage to Stephen Belafonte (pictured last September)
When Spice Girl Melanie, 48, walked away from her marriage to Stephen in 2018, she had just £700 in her bank account with her legal bills amid her ongoing divorce battle (Mel ad Stephen pictured in 2016)
She told The Sun: ‘I would say to people, “You know there’s this service called Amazon that delivers to your door?” And they’d be like, “Of course!” But I didn’t have access to a credit card during my relationship and was working 24/7.’
The pop star admitted she hadn’t gone shopping for a pint of milk for herself in California in years, but when she was back in Britain she did everything on her own.
She said she would shop during lockdown and queue outside the supermarket with her face mask firmly on, and no one would recognize her.
The media personality once again learned to budget for herself and spend the money she had more wisely, saying she saw it as taking back her power after being in an abusive relationship.
Melanie explained: ‘It’s been years since I bought a pint of milk in LA. But back home I would buy in bulk at Costco and really started shopping in Lidl and Aldi.
‘It was Covid times and I put my face mask on and no one would recognize me. I stood in a line for the first time in a long time. Nobody batted an eyelid.
‘After being in an abusive relationship for years, you really have to rebuild yourself inside and out. No one but you can do it.
“Having to budget and learn how much a packet of chips costs again felt like I was reclaiming my power.”
Mel has had to relearn day-to-day skills such as managing her own finances and budgeting for a weekly shop, as she claims she lost control of such matters while in her relationship (pictured in November last year)
In addition to her work with the Spice Girls, Mel had lucrative jobs on American television shows such as the American version of Strictly Come Dancing – Dancing with the Stars – and was a judge on America’s Got Talent while living in Los Angeles.
She also appeared as a judge on The X Factor in the UK before moving back home for good.
In 2021, Melanie appeared on The Masked Singer UK, eventually revealing herself as Seahorse, she is a judge on the Australian version of the show, and this year she made a comeback as a judge on America’s Got Talent.
Mel had a loft apartment in Los Angeles and a 10-bedroom property in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Mel revealed earlier this month that she was finally able to buy a house with her own money for the first time – seven years after her messy divorce from ‘abusive’ film producer Stephen.
She took to Instagram to show off a set of house keys and share her long, arduous journey to financial independence with her 1.5 million followers.
Mel wrote: ‘I’m soooo overwhelmed right now. Sitting here with my 3 dogs who can’t really talk but something happened to me a few minutes ago that is HUGE!!!
Mel B has emotionally revealed she was finally able to buy a house with her own money for the first time – seven years after her messy divorce from ‘abusive’ ex Stephen Belafonte
The former Spice Girl, 49, took to Instagram to show off a set of house keys and share with her 1.5 million followers her long, difficult journey to financial independence
Mel B revealed that it took her more than five years to get to this point because even after the Spice Girls’ 2019 reunion tour, she had nothing in her bank account due to divorce attorney fees
‘I want to share this with other survivors like me because all YOU survivors out there will know how emotional this moment is five minutes ago a man arrived at my door with a set of keys.
‘They are the keys to my new house. A house I bought with the money I worked hard to pay for. It took me 5+ years to be able to do that.’
She continued: ‘In 2019 I had to come back to Leeds with NOTHING in my bank account. The money from the Spice Girls tour went on ENDLESS lawyer fees from his (Stephen’s) and mine.
‘I’m still drained by my ex’s incessant demands for more more tomorrow I had to move into my mum’s bungalow my kids/ dogs/ low self-esteem/ failures/ divorced.
‘From Wembley Stadium to my mum’s. It’s called FINANCIAL ABUSE and it’s ugly, devastating and mean.
It’s hard not to crumble. Difficult to rebuild yourself inside and out. I’ve spent so many nights in pieces, nights I’ve had to turn to the lovely ladies at women’s aid refuge in Leeds just for words of comfort from women who GET IT.
She wrote: ‘In 2019 I had to come back to Leeds with NOTHING in my bank account. The money from the Spice Girls tour went on ENDLESS lawyer fees from him (Stephen’s) and mine’
‘I’m sharing this because it takes a LONG LONG time to deal with the trauma of being left at ground zero financially and everything you enjoyed is gone.
“A man’s mission was to destroy me mentally, spiritually and financially, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. I needed to get back to my roots, back to my family in Leeds, and like my dad who rode his bike to work every day and never missed a single day, I wasn’t going to let that happen.
‘I worked, I believed, I spoke, I continued, | fell MANY times, but I got up. I found people I could trust – it was hard – I finally let people help me and I got 5000 lots of help from @womens_aid.
‘Just now that these pieces of metal have been placed in my hands, I want all survivors to know that we CAN rise like the Phoenix.
She concluded: ‘This will be my happy home, I think of my dad, I think of my children, and I think of all those survivors out there – you CAN reclaim your power. Trust and believe.
Mel B commented under the post: ‘I just can’t stop crying dear ffs I’m honest I’m happy but I’m just overwhelmed with emotions I don’t have words for the pain the realization the sacrifice , the understanding of the non-stop stop.
Mel B commented under the post: ‘I just can’t stop crying dear ffs I’m honest I’m happy but I’m just overwhelmed with emotions I don’t have words for’
“I’m literally exhausted I’m on my feet and don’t know if I should pray to forgive be thankful all of the above I never thought things would hit me as hard as they did now.”
Mel B and the American Stephen were married from 2007 to 2017 and share a daughter Madison (12).
Over the years, Mel B has accused him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, claims he denies.
Mel also claimed that her Spice Girls bandmates knew about the abuse and that she won’t report domestic abuse because she doesn’t know if she can trust the police in Britain.
