Mel B admitted she couldn't buy her own milk and had no idea what Amazon was when she called it quits on her marriage to Stephen Belafonte.
When Spice Girl Melanie, 48, split from her marriage to Stephen in 2018, she had just £700 in her bank account and her legal bills were threatening to mount as her divorce battle grew worse.
Over the years, Mel B has accused him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, which he denies.
After living with her mother in their bungalow in Leeds, Mel saved for five years and moved to a converted farmhouse in West Yorkshire this month.
But she has had to relearn everyday skills such as managing her own finances and budgeting for a weekly shop as she claims she lost control of such matters during her relationship with Stephen.
Mel B has admitted she couldn't buy her own milk and had no idea what Amazon was when she called it quits on her marriage to Stephen Belafonte (pictured in September last year).
When Spice Girl Melanie, 48, split from her marriage to Stephen in 2018, she had just £700 in her bank account and her legal bills were at the heart of their divorce battle (Mel and Stephen pictured in 2016).
She told The Sun: “I would say to people, 'Do you know there's this service called Amazon that delivers to your door?' And they'd say, 'Of course!'” But I didn't have access during my relationship to a credit card and had to work around the clock.”
The pop star admitted she hadn't bought a pint of milk for herself in California in years, but once back in the UK she did it all herself.
She said she would go shopping during lockdown and would queue outside the supermarket with her face mask firmly on and no one would recognize her.
The media personality learned to budget again and spent the money she had more wisely. She said she viewed it as a way of regaining her power after being in an abusive relationship.
Melanie explained: “I hadn’t bought a pint of milk in LA for years. But at home I shopped in bulk at Costco and really enjoyed shopping at Lidl and Aldi.
“It was Covid times and I put my face mask on and no one recognized me.” For the first time in a long time, I stood in a queue. Nobody batted an eyelid.
“After being in an abusive relationship for years, you really have to rebuild yourself inside and out. No one can do that but you.
“Having to budget and find out how much a packet of chips costs again somehow felt like I was regaining my power.”
Mel has had to re-learn everyday skills such as managing her own finances and planning a weekly shop as she claims she lost control of such things during their relationship (pictured in November last year).
In addition to her work with the Spice Girls, Mel has had lucrative jobs on American television shows such as the US 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 returning home permanently.
In 2021, Melanie appeared on The Masked Singer UK and was eventually introduced as Seahorse. She is a judge on the Australian version of the show and returned as a judge on America's Got Talent this year.
Mel initially had a loft apartment in Los Angeles and a 10-bedroom property in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Earlier this month Mel 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” film producer Stephen.
On Instagram, she showed off a set of house keys and shared her long, hard journey to financial independence with her 1.5 million followers.
Mel wrote: “I'm soooo overwhelmed right now.” I'm sitting here with my three dogs and I can't really speak, 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 her “abusive” ex Stephen Belafonte
The former Spice Girl, 49, showed off a set of house keys on Instagram and shared her long, hard journey to financial independence with her 1.5 million followers
Mel B revealed that it took her over five years to get to this point as even after the Spice Girls' 2019 reunion tour, she had nothing in her bank account due to her divorce lawyer's fees
“I want to share it with other survivors like me because all survivors out there will know how emotional this moment is, five minutes ago a man stood at my door with a set of keys.
“They are the keys to my new home.” A house I bought with the money I worked damn hard for. It took me more than 5 years to achieve this.”
She continued: “In 2019 I had to return to Leeds with NOTHING in my bank account.” The money from the Spice Girls tour went towards endless legal fees [Stephen’s] and mine.
“I was still exhausted from my ex's constant demands for more, more, I had to move into my mom's bungalow, my kids/dogs/low self-esteem/failures/divorced.
“From Wembley Stadium to my mother.” This is called FINANCIAL ABUSE and it is ugly, devastating and disgusting.
It's hard not to break down. It's hard to rebuild yourself inside and out. I have spent sooo many nights in shambles, nights where I have had to turn to the beautiful ladies at the women's shelter in Leeds just to receive words of comfort from women who understand.
She wrote: “In 2019 I had to return to Leeds with NOTHING in my bank account.” The money from the Spice Girls tour went towards endless legal fees [Stephen’s] and mine'
“I share this because it takes a long time to process the trauma of being at rock bottom financially and everything that was nice for you is gone.”
“A man's mission was to destroy me mentally, spiritually and financially, but I wasn't going to let that happen.” I had to return to my roots, back to my family in Leeds, and like my father, who cycled every day drove to work and didn't miss a single day, I didn't let it happen.
“I worked, I believed, I raised my voice, I carried on, | Many times I fell down, but I got up again. I found people I could trust – that was hard – I finally allowed people to help me and I found 50O0 lots of help from @womens_aid.
“Just as these pieces of metal were placed in my hands, I want all survivors to know that we CAN rise like the phoenix.”
She ended by saying, “This will be my happy home. I think of my father, I think of my children and I think of all the survivors out there – you CAN take back your power.” Trust and Faith.
Mel B commented under the post: “I just can't stop crying, ohhhh dear friends, I'm honestly happy but I'm just overwhelmed by emotions I have no words for, the pain, the realization, the sacrifice , the understanding of uninterrupted stopping.
Mel B commented under the post: “I just can't stop crying ohhhh dear friends I'm honestly happy but I'm just overwhelmed with emotions I have no words for.”
“I'm literally exhausted, I'm on my feet and I don't know if I should pray for forgiveness and be grateful for all of this. I never thought things would hit me as hard as they have now.”
Mel B and the American Stephen were married from 2007 to 2017 and have 12-year-old daughter Madison together.
Over the years, Mel B has accused him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, which he denies.
Mel has also claimed that her Spice Girls bandmates knew about the abuse and that she wouldn't report domestic violence because she didn't know if she could “trust” the police in the UK.