'I went from Spice Girls tour to sharing a bed with my kids': Mel B had just £700 in the bank after leaving abusive ex

24 February 2024, 08:05 | Updated: 24 February 2024, 08:16

Mel B has revealed that leaving her abusive ex-husband left her so broke that she was forced to share a bed with her children at her mother's house.

Melanie Brown, known as Scary Spice, went back to her native Leeds in 2019 after ending her ten-year marriage.

Ms Brown, who made £80 million in her career had so little money after the divorce that she and her three children were forced to move in with her mother, the Sun reported.

She said she was left with just £700 after the split, after spending so much money on the divorce and custody battles.

"People will assume, ‘She’s rich, she’s a Spice Girl’," she said.

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"But I went from performing to thousands at Wembley on the Spice Girls’ 13-date Reunion Tour in 2019 to squeezing into my mum’s with my kids sleeping in bed with me.

"I didn’t expect that to happen in my 40s after a successful career but I had nowhere else to go.

“Because I was so badly affected financially from my relationship, I had to pick up the pieces." She said she hadn't bought a pint of milk for years, but then got into shopping in Aldi and Lidl.

She has now saved up enough money to buy a converted farmhouse in West Yorkshire.

Mel B has previously called for reform of the judicial system at the Conservative Party conference, as she shared her personal experiences of domestic abuse.

The pop star, a patron of the Women's Aid charity, spoke at a fringe event at last year's conference in Birmingham, calling for more to be done to support survivors of domestic abuse.

She told the event she was "probably the last person you would expect to find at a Tory party conference".

"I am not here because I am Mel B, Scary Spice from the Spice Girls, I am here because I am Melanie Brown MBE," she added.

She told the audience in a packed conference room that she was in an abusive relationship for about 10 years, but "kept it a complete secret".

"I went on tour with the Spice Girls, I was a judge on America's Got Talent - voted best judge, if you can be voted the best judge on a TV show," she said.

The singer continued: "I put on a smile for the cameras because that is my job and I know I am really good at it as well."

She said the abuse became worse "bit by bit", leaving her without access to money or a support network, and gradually leading her to attempt suicide.

"I couldn't pick up the phone to call my mum, my friends, I didn't have access to anything, and you think, well, Spice Girls are all about girl power, but let me tell you, when these abusers get their hooks into you, there is no way out, really - so you think," she said.

Sharing her own feelings about the impact of the pandemic on those suffering domestic abuse, the singer said: "I had this horrible feeling during lockdown for women that were in abusive relationships.

"I literally felt suffocated at the thought, if I was with my ex then, I think I would have died.

"If it wouldn't have been from me taking my own life, or from him killing me.

"Because that was literally lockdown, not just in my every day, but I wouldn't have even been able to go out to work."

It was only after the death of her father that Mel B said she found the strength to leave the relationship, after seven previous attempts.

She called on the Government to do more to raise awareness of the needs of survivors of domestic abuse, including better support through the health service and the court system.

"Every judge I have come across looks in complete horror like, 'Well, you look put together, you look all right, what is wrong with you?'" Mel B said.

She emphasised that women from all walks of life can experience abuse, no matter how they appear outwardly, telling the event: "Domestic abuse is everywhere in society. You can be from a council estate, which I am, or you can be from a country estate - which I am now."

For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk