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Home / Entertainment

Fearful Mel B granted restraining order against ex-husband

BANG! Showbiz
17 Jun, 2018 01:50 AM3 mins to read

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Mel B is reportedly feeling "strong and in control" following her divorce from Stephen Belafonte. Photo / AP

Mel B is reportedly feeling "strong and in control" following her divorce from Stephen Belafonte. Photo / AP

Mel B has been handed a restraining order against Stephen Belafonte.

The Spice Girls singer had a request granted by a judge, who agreed her ex-husband must stay 100 yards away from her until a full hearing on the matter can take place next month.

Mel - who split from Stephen last year amid claims he had been abusive - claimed in court documents she's so afraid of the TV producer, the thought of coming face-to-face with him last week saw her hospitalised after suffering a panic attack.

She explained in a declaration the events of June 12, when she was heading to her former family home to meet Stephen so they could retrieve their personal belongings.

According to The Blast, she said: "On my way to the Cordell property, I was unable to attend the meeting.

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"My heart began racing and I was having extreme difficulty breathing. I began to have flashbacks of incidents where Stephen would terrorise me in front of the children. The thought of returning to the Cordell property to face my abuser again, brought to the surface every name hurled at me, every tear I shed at the hands of Stephen, every physical beating that I suffered from him.

"Due to my extreme terror of Stephen and thought of having to be in a confined space anywhere near him again, I had a full-blown panic attack. I was hospitalized at Cedar Sinai Hospital that afternoon."

The 'America's Got Talent' judge - who has daughters Phoenix, 19, and Angel, 10, from previous relationships and six-year-old Madison with Stephen - checked into hospital under an alias so she could "avoid any paparazzi gaining information concerning my hospital stay."

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Stephen, 43, previously filed for a restraining order against Mel, also 43, and claimed she'd left him in "fear" for his life.

He said in court documents: "I am in fear of what (Mel B) will do next and what additional harm she will continue to cause me. (She) will stop at nothing to try and destroy me.

"Given what has transpired so far in this case, I honestly and truly believe that (she) will make good on her threats and desire to see me dead or either set up and falsely imprisoned."

Stephen claimed an acquaintance he bumped in to named Derek Daniel told him that Mel had been "essentially soliciting him or someone he knew to kill me or have me thrown in jail".

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He added: "I truly believe (she) is mentally unstable and would try and pay someone to have me killed and/or pay someone to trump up false allegations against me and have me falsely imprisoned.

"(She) clearly has the financial ability to pay someone to try to physically harm me and/or set me up.

"I am in utter fear for my life and safety."

- Bang! Showbiz

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