NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Spice Girl Mel B gets restraining order against husband Stephen Belafonte

BANG! Showbiz
5 Apr, 2017 07:30 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Stephen Belafonte and Mel B together in California in 2016. The pair have separated amid claims of abuse. Photo/Getty

Stephen Belafonte and Mel B together in California in 2016. The pair have separated amid claims of abuse. Photo/Getty

Mel B has been granted a restraining order against her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte - amid claims he got their nanny pregnant.

The 41-year-old film producer has been ordered to stay away from the singer and her three children after she claimed in documents submitted to the court and obtained by TMZ that he hit her and forced her to take part in threesomes during their 10-year marriage.

The former Spice Girl - who filed for divorce from her ex-beau last month - alleged the abuse started within the first year of their marriage in 2007 and saw him "punch" her, "choke" her and "split" her lip.

The documents state, "Stephen placed both of his hands around her neck, began choking her and slammed her down onto the hardwood floors," while she was preparing for Dancing with the Stars.

Mel has claimed the domestic abuse became a recurring "pattern" for the then-couple with Belafonte allegedly choosing to "beat her down to let her know he was in charge" whenever she saw a spike in her career.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She has also accused the producer of hurting her after he flew into a fit of rage out of "jealousy" when she filmed a segment with Usher, which he saw as "flirting", for The X Factor in 2012.

Things allegedly took another turn for the worse just before the Spice Girls performed at the Olympic closing ceremony in London in 2012 as he pushed her so hard that she suffered carpet burns.

Mel has claimed her estranged husband forced her to tweet that she had "injured herself by running in heels" in a bid to stop people speculating when she took to the stage in front of the whole world.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The singer - who has five-year-old daughter Madison with Belafonte - has stated she became so "overcome with emotional and physical exhaustion" in 2014 that she overdosed on a bottle of Aspirin.

However, she's claimed she never reported the attempted overdose to the emergency services because Belafonte allegedly locked her in the bedroom and told her to "die, bitch."

But Mel has admitted she wasn't just subject to physical and emotional abuse but Stephen also allegedly got their nanny pregnant and suggested "all three of us" live together with the new baby.

However, the nanny was later paid a reported US$300,000 to have an abortion, the documents claim.

Discover more

Entertainment

Ginger Spice welcomes new baby boy

22 Jan 01:00 AM
Entertainment

S Club singer hospitalised

04 Feb 05:30 AM
Entertainment

The real story behind Adele's 'final' tour

28 Mar 07:00 AM
Entertainment

Mel B 'livid' at Victoria Beckham

31 Mar 05:00 AM

It was previously claimed that the estranged couple had an "open and loose relationship" but Mel states that Belafonte actually forced her to have "intercourse with him and random women".

He then secretly filmed the steamy trysts and allegedly threatened to release the sex tapes.

Mel has claimed she had previously tried to leave Belafonte but he "threatened me with violence and threatened to destroy my life in every possible way ... destroy my career and take my kids from me."

Belafonte has denied all the allegations against him and says he has been left "distraught" by her claims.

He told TMZ: "I haven't heard these allegations. You know what my comment on this is, as this is the mother of my children? I'm really really distraught in my brain by how this is going to affect our children and the depths that she's gone to. I'm shocked at those allegations and that's what it is. I think someone's set me up to look like a bad guy.

"Obviously you saw my house got raided and nobody found anything. It's accusation after accusation. But we'll have our day in court. And we have children. If anyone knows our children, we have beautiful children. They're on social media. Why do this? We were friends two weeks ago. And now all of a sudden the team gets around and now it's got to be this."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As well as Madison with Belafonte, Mel also has Phoenix, 18, with her first husband Jimmy Gulzar and nine-year-old daughter Angel with Eddie Murphy.

- Bang! Showbiz

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

World

Trump gives TikTok 90 more days to find buyer, again delayed ban

19 Jun 05:53 PM
Premium
Entertainment

TikTok made Addison Rae famous. Pop made her cool

19 Jun 06:00 AM
Entertainment

The five best films for your Matariki weekend watchlist

19 Jun 04:00 AM

Help for those helping hardest-hit

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Trump gives TikTok 90 more days to find buyer, again delayed ban

Trump gives TikTok 90 more days to find buyer, again delayed ban

19 Jun 05:53 PM

ByteDance is in talks with US investors to reduce its share in TikTok.

Premium
TikTok made Addison Rae famous. Pop made her cool

TikTok made Addison Rae famous. Pop made her cool

19 Jun 06:00 AM
The five best films for your Matariki weekend watchlist

The five best films for your Matariki weekend watchlist

19 Jun 04:00 AM
Why matchmakers are conflicted about the new rom-com about matchmakers

Why matchmakers are conflicted about the new rom-com about matchmakers

18 Jun 05:00 PM
Inside Leigh Hart’s bonkers quest to hand-deliver a SnackaChangi chip to every Kiwi
sponsored

Inside Leigh Hart’s bonkers quest to hand-deliver a SnackaChangi chip to every Kiwi

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP