“It was my hairdresser and security guy who took me to the hospital the next day. The press got wind of it and, when I appeared on The X Factor covered in bruises and without my wedding ring, the rumors went into overdrive. I told everyone around me that I would leave Stephen, but a few days later I was told by a child expert that I could lose my children if it came out I’d taken an overdose, so I went back to him.”
Melanie Brown left Stephen Belafonte once and for all last year. “I walked away from the home I shared with Stephen and moved into a rented house, and every night I would hug my kids,” the celebrity mom says. “We had meals at the table. I made pancakes. We would dance to music that I loved, music my kids loved. I was being the mum I wanted to be, the mum I was when Phoenix was a little girl. My mother came back into my life and we had roast chicken dinners together.”
It’s still an uphill battle but, even so, things are looking up. “What Mum went through made me a good judge of character,” the young adult explains.
“Like I say, I see my mum as a woman. I’ve seen her weakness and I know her strength. When we went to Leeds because my grandad was dying, she and I talked for hours and that’s when I knew how smart she is – and that she was leaving Stephen. Of all the people in the world, the only person I want respect from is my mum. I never really say this to her, but as a woman, I think she is a hero.”
Head over to You to read Phoenix and Mel B’s full story!
Photo: Joseph Montezinos/You
