‘I DIDN'T THINK.I'D SEE MUM AGAIN'int ICAT AFAR

MelB on rebuilding her life rebuilding her life after her abusive’ marriage

- ARIANA LONGSON

Her bubbly public persona, championing of girl power and nickname Scary Spice may have you believe she’s a force to be reckoned with, but during her marriage to Stephen Belafonte, Melanie Brown has admitted she felt ‘powerless’.

‘I was in an abusive marriage from 2007 to 2017,’ the singer has alleged in a new interview, although these are claims film producer Belafonte has denied. Mel explained, ‘I wasn’t just emotionally and physically abused, there was financial abuse too.’ She continued, ‘He had his claws in me mentally, financially, spiritually. He was micromanaging me, from what I wore to who I spoke to. I didn’t have a phone or credit card.’

Now, finally back on her feet and having reunited with her mum after ‘years’ of being estranged, Mel, 48, is determined to raise awareness, saying, ‘I’m the voice of all the other survivors out there that don’t have a voice.’

BREAKING FREE