Ben Rees

Mel B left her marriage with $936 in the bank. She still had to pay her estranged husband $40,000 a month and $350,000 of his legal fees. She says she has made more than £80 million in her career. She married film producer Stephen Belafonte in 2007, months after her split from Eddie Murphy. Over ten years, she says, he took over the money. "There'd be an accountant meeting. It'd be like, oh, you're at work. I'll go and take that meeting for you." In the video below, she tells Loose Women what she later realised: "he's stashing your money somewhere else and taking all your money out of your bag." She filed for divorce in March 2017. In July, a judge granted his request for emergency support: $40,000 a month, plus $140,000 for his lawyers and forensic accountants. Then the final bill came. By August 2018, court papers had her paying him $15,000 a month in spousal support, $5,000 a month in child support and $350,000 in legal fees. Her abuse allegations were dropped. Belafonte has always denied them. By 2019 she was back in Leeds, living in her mum's bungalow. She said the Spice Girls tour money went on "ENDLESS lawyers fees his and mine." She earned the fortune and he walked away with the monthly checks. What should a court do when the person who controlled the money is the one asking for support?