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As a member of the much beloved Spice Girls, Mel B became one of the biggest pop music stars in the world. As impressive as that is, a genuinely impressive fact about Mel B is she has managed to remain relevant as a TV personality in the years since the Spice Girls’ heyday.
While it can certainly seem like Mel B has had a perfect life, the truth is that things have been very tough for her at times. A perfect example of that is Mel B lost primary custody of her daughter Madison Brown for a very surprising reason.
Why Did Mel B Lose Primary Custody Of Her Daughter Madison Brown Belafonte?
During Mel B’s time in the spotlight, fans have gotten to see how much of a survivor she is time and time again. In a lot of cases, Mel B has proven that she shouldn’t be underestimated by overcoming career setbacks that would ruin a less strong-willed star.
Unfortunately for Mel B, the truth is that she has also had a lot of setbacks in her love life. The most recent example of that came in 2017 when Mel B divorced her husband of roughly a decade, the film producer Stephen Belafonte.
Once Mel B and Belafonte’s marriage fell apart, the massively successful pop star accused her ex of being emotionally and physically abusive. Mel B also claimed that she lived in constant fear throughout her relationship with Belafonte.
This is a trigger warning as the next two paragraphs will be describing an abusive incident in general terms.
According to Mel B, one incident of abuse she suffered at Belafonte’s hand took place after she and the other Spice Girls performed at the London Olympics closing ceremonies. During that alleged incident, Belafonte punch Mel B and pushed her to the ground.
Based on Mel B’s account, she suffered injuries to her face after that incident. Around the time of the London Olympics, Mel B did post a photo on social media that featured a very noticeable injury on her face.
At the time, Mel B captioned that photo, “Running in 7 inch Louboutin [sic] no good!! I’m wearing Prauge on my face!!!” Of course, it is common for abused women to come up with cover stories to explain their injuries and only admit what happened years later. A perfect example of that is Priscilla Presley waited until 1986 to reveal some dark truths about Elvis Presley.
In March 2023, Belafonte was asked about Mel B’s accusation that he was abusive to her. Belafonte denied his ex-wife’s claim and questioned why she would wait so long to say these things if that was true.
“Six years after we’re divorced, I have no idea why she brings my name up. She’s infatuated with me. I don’t know.”
According to Mel B, she had primary custody of the daughter she shares with Belafonte, Madison Brown Belafonte, following their divorce. However, Mel B ended up losing primary custody for a truly shocking reason.
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Since Mel B works in the entertainment industry, she moved to Los Angeles where she was making her living for many years. However, according to Mel B’s legal filings, she never became an American citizen.
Instead, Mel B made America her home for many years because she had a work visa that allowed her to make a living. Mel B’s legal filings revealed all of that changed when her work visa expired in 2019, and she was forced to go back to The UK.
With Mel B not able to live in the country, the courts awarded the primary custody of the child she shares with Belafonte to him. Since then, Madison Brown Belafonte has spent most of her time living with her father in America.
Since Mel B lost primary custody of her daughter with Belafonte, she has only been able to see her during her school holidays. As of May 2023, Mel B is fighting to regain primary custody of Madison Brown Belafonte and wrote to the judge about how painful the situation has been for her.
“Madison’s sisters, Angel and Phoenix, relocated with me to the U.K. where we live minutes from nearly all of our friends and family. Moving to the U.K. without Madison was devastating for the girls and me. The three girls have always had a very close relationship and enjoy spending time together.”
“Madison would thrive socially, emotionally, and academically if she were permitted to live with me and her sisters in the U.K. during the school year.” Mel B continued, “I am confident that Madison’s best interest would be served if she lived primarily in the U.K. with her sisters and me,”
Why Did Mel B Have To Battle With Eddie Murphy Over Their Child?
Years before Mel B had to battle to get primary custody of her daughter Madison Brown Belafonte, she was in the opposite position. When Mel B became pregnant with Eddie Murphy’s child in the mid-2000s, she had to fight to get him to acknowledge the child was his.
Before the baby was born, Murphy was asked about the child during an interview. At that time, Murphy made it abundantly clear that he wouldn’t admit to being the father until a paternity test could be completed.
“I don’t know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions, sir.”
Ultimately, Mel B and Murphy’s daughter Angel Iris Murphy Brown was born in 2007, a paternity test was completed, and he acknowledged he was the father. After that, the former couple agreed that Mel B would take sole custody of their child.
Speaking about the whole situation, Mel B said things were rocky with Murphy at first. Sadly, that isn’t uncommon as many celebrity couples have had difficult divorces and custody battles. Fortunately, Mel B says she and Murphy developed a “respectful” relationship.
