Mel B has revealed her marriage “almost” cost her her life.
The Spice Girls star divorced Stephen Belafonte in 2017 amidst claims he was physically and emotionally abusive towards her and she believes she lost a lot throughout the ten year marriage including her “self-respect”.
Read more: Mel B reveals Spice Girls bandmate Emma Bunton ‘shared a kiss’ with Holly Willoughby
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, she said: “In the process of my marriage I lost my family, my friends, my self-respect and I almost lost my life. And for so long I felt ashamed.
“I thought I was stupid, that everything that happened was my fault. I had never heard of a coercive relationship. Even after I left him I never realised so many other women have almost exactly the same story to tell.
“It was only after my book came out that I realised emotional abuse is an epidemic that affects millions. It’s the shame that makes you suffer in silence. But I am no longer ashamed.”
And the 44-year-old singer has confessed she “avoided” people because she was so ashamed of what her life had become.
She added that her life “was a mess” and she “didn’t want anyone to know so I just avoided people and pretended everything was great”.
Mel said that although she was “on the biggest TV show in America” and “living in beautiful mansions in LA,” the “real story was so different from the image” she presented to the world.
The singer admitted she thought she “couldn’t ever tell the whole story because it would destroy” her.
But now, she wants to tell “everything” even though it “doesn’t always go down well with everyone”.
In June, Mel branded her ex Stephen “very controlling” as she revealed she “isolated” from her family for ten years.
Mel said on This Morning: “I was in a ten-year marriage and it wasn’t a nice marriage at all and I got isolated from my friends and family.
Read more: Mel B eyes up Glastonbury performance for the Spice Girls
“Because I lived in LA, my trips back to Leeds got less and less and less because my then-husband was very controlling and it was very mean that he did that to our family.”
She added: “For me to be isolated from my family was a constant battle that I always lost.”
Head over to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.