Mel B: "Life's been a roller coaster"
Mel B has overcome her tough times to find happiness as the ultimate Spice mum
Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown seems on top of the world. With two beautiful daughters, a phone ringing off the hook with job offers and a new husband, life couldn’t be better.
But Mel has spent the last few years on a roller coaster of love and heartbreak. She has famously been a single mother to Phoenix Chi, and her second daughter, Angel Iris, was the subject of a highly-publicised paternity dispute with actor Eddie Murphy. “This past year has been one hell of an interesting ride,” she told Fabulous magazine, “and that’s putting it mildly.”
But Mel has always lived life in the fast lane. Born in 1975 to a white mother and black father in Leeds, she met her first husband, Jimmy Gulzar, when he was a dancer on the 1998 Spice Girls world tour. Within weeks she discovered she was pregnant and five months after walking down the aisle with Jimmy, 23-year-old Mel gave birth to Phoenix Chi three weeks early, on 19 February, 1999.
Just 16 months later she divorced Jimmy following a public and bitter custody battle. Mel later moved to Los Angeles but failed to establish a solo career. She had a number of unsuccessful relationships and a woman sold a kiss-and-tell story about her.
Tough times
Mel was thrust back into the public eye again when she began dating Hollywood star Eddie Murphy in 2006. During their romance she tried to ensure Phoenix Chi felt included in the life of the actor, who already had five children. “My point was to introduce the kids and have them spend time together,” she said. “We went on a vacation with family and friends and everyone got along. Trust me, if my daughter doesn’t like someone then I don’t like them. It’s as simple as that.”
So when Eddie denied they were a couple and questioned whether he was the father of her unborn baby during an interview, Mel was devastated. “When I saw it [the interview] my heart dropped to my gut. I had press outside my front door. It was awful.”
New baby
Mel refused to be cowed, and her priority was to protect Phoenix Chi from the rumours. “I tell her what she needs to know because there are certain things your kids don’t need to know. I simply give her a heads-up: this is how it is and if you have a problem with it, let’s talk about it.”
Mel gave birth to her second daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, on 3 April, 2007. At first the 5lbs 4oz girl was simply called ‘Baby Brown’, but Mel soon found inspiration for her name, as she told OK!: “Angel, as she was my angel all the way through my pregnancy. Iris is my grandmother’s name. Murphy as that’s her father and Brown because that’s my last name.”
Mel loved being a mum again second-time round: “Things become more simple and it’s less about you and more about looking after your kids. As long as you’re a happy mum, it’s magical.”
Angel Iris’s birth was a turning point for Mel. She landed a spot on the US show Dancing with the Stars and was soon back in great shape, ready for the Spice Girls’ reunion tour. Soon afterwards, romance blossomed with her old friend and film producer Stephen Belafonte and the pair married in secret in Las Vegas.
Finding happiness
Mel has found happiness with Stephen: “We’ve been through a very similar roller coaster with life, friends and experience. You know how someone makes themselves a better person every time you see them? That’s him.” The family spend time with their famous neighbours the Beckhams, and family life with the children is filled with love. “I can’t go a day without giving them lots of kisses,” she smiles.
Mel is also stepmum to Stephen’s daughter Giselle, four, and is enthusiastic about her husband’s parenting role: “Stephen’s brilliant with my daughters. For the first time, I feel like part of a family.” She adds, “He’s going to be her [Angel’s] dad. Her father figure.” Do they plan to have more children? “Definitely.”
Settled in LA with new songs on the way, a reality show and a modelling contract, Mel says, “I am now more confident and grounded than I’ve ever been. I feel pretty amazing.” But she knows her biggest achievements are her daughters: “The most exhilarating moments of my life were giving birth to them.”
Words: Kate Graham. Pictures: Rex, WENN
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