Mel B revealed today how she felt ‘choked’ at the thought she could have spent the Covid lockdown with her ex-husband and admitted she may have taken her own life.
At a side event at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, the Spice Girl told an audience how she would have “died” if she had still been with her former spouse during the pandemic.
The 47-year-old pop star is a patron of the charity Women’s Aid, which works to help survivors of domestic violence.
Mel B finalized her divorce from TV producer Stephen Belafonte in 2017 after exiting what she described as an abusive relationship.
He has firmly denied allegations that he physically and emotionally abused the singer during their 10-year marriage.
Mel B appeared on a panel at the Tory conference this afternoon, where she described how a promise to her dying father eventually led her to leave their marriage.
She also admitted that she was concerned that speaking out about her experience would “ruin my career.”
“As a Spice Girl, I’m the embodiment of girl power,” she said. “And for 10 years I was completely powerless over this man and the situation I found myself in.”
Mel B spoke at a side event on domestic violence at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham
The 47-year-old pop star is a patron of the charity Women’s Aid, which works to help survivors of domestic violence
The Spice Girl told an audience how she would have “died” if she had still been with her former spouse during the pandemic
At one point during the Covid lockdown, Women’s Aid had 21,000 women waiting on their helpline.
Sharing her own feelings about the impact of the pandemic on those suffering domestic violence, Mel B said: “I’ve had this horrible feeling during lockdown for women who have been in abusive relationships.
“I literally felt suffocated thinking if I had been with my ex at the time, I think I would have died.
“If it hadn’t been for me taking my own life or for him killing me.
“Because that was literally locked down, not only in my everyday life, but I couldn’t even have gone to work.”
Mel B revealed how, after leaving their relationship, she had a form of hypnotherapy to be able to talk about her experiences.
“After walking out of that relationship for months, I just jumped out of my skin when I slammed the door,” she added.
Mel B, who has appeared as a judge on a number of TV talent shows in recent years, received an MBE from Prince William earlier this year for her services to charity and vulnerable women.
She has also published a book titled Brutally Honest detailing their relationship.
Mel B told the Tory conference audience how a conversation with her dying father gave her “the strength” to leave their marriage.
“While I was saying to him, ‘Don’t worry Dad, I’m going to leave him,’ he breathed his last,” she said.
‘I was like, ‘Damn, that’s a really heavy thing you just put on me, I really have to go now.’
“So it was about it being about me and when I’m doing for my dad and that gave me the strength.”
But the singer, who recounted how she once attempted suicide, admitted she was “lucky,” adding, “I know so many other men and women didn’t make it out alive.
“Every day there are thousands upon thousands of women and men who return to their abusers because they have children and cannot survive financially.”
Mel B joined Women’s Aid Chief Executive Farah Nazeer as well as Secretary of Defense Mims Davies and Maggie Blyth, the first national police leader on violence against women and girls, on the podium.
She urged the government to improve the record of judges and courts in dealing with domestic violence cases and the “traumatic” experiences faced by survivors as they navigate the justice system.
“It’s a boys’ club,” she said of the “old-fashioned” judiciary and family court.