Mel B’s ex Stephen Belafonte seen in UK with couple’s daughter ahead of lawsuit

Mel B’s ex, Stephen Belafonte, has been seen in the UK for the first time since news of his $5 million (£3.9m) lawsuit against the Spice Girl broke.

The American film producer, 49, is suing the singer, also 49, claiming she “engaged in a deliberate and wide-ranging campaign to cause him severe emotional distress and destroy his reputation”.

Stephen was due to arrive in the UK Monday from the US just weeks after he filed the lawsuit in Florida. A source close to the producer claimed he was bringing over the couple’s daughter, Maddison, 12, to stay with her mum, and wanted to keep things “amicable as possible.”

In photos released today, Stephen and Madison were seen laughing as they spent time together at a friend’s country estate just outside London. The father and daughter spent the afternoon feeding a menagerie, including goats, ducks and an enormous dog, sheep, the 12-year-old, who lives in the US with her dad, heads back to be with her mum.

Stephen, dressed in a brown blazer, white shirt and jeans took pictures on his phone of the tranquil scenery alongside Maddison, who was sporting a white USA jumper.

Speaking about Stephen’s lawsuit against Mel, an insider told the Mirror: “Stephen is ploughing ahead with the court action but wants to keep things as amicable as possible for the sake of their daughter. He is happy to sit down and talk things through with Mel but she doesn’t want to talk to him or see him.”

The couple’s 10-year marriage ended in 2018 and in memoir Brutally Honest, Mel claimed she suffered abuse – which Stephen denies. A source close to the singer has previously said of the lawsuit: “It’s a cruel continuation of his abuse…but nothing surprises people when it comes to his behaviour.”

The film producer vehemently denied ever abusing his ex-wife despite her years-long claims of domestic violence in an interview with Page Six earlier this year.

“Never, not once. We never had a physical argument. We never had anything close to it,” Stephen claimed, adding: “And to think that I was this monster … I’m a goofball.”

The Thank You for Smoking producer also said that his father abused his mother, claiming that’s why he’s such a doting dad to Madison.

“That’s why I’m the way I am as a father. I don’t believe in that,” he said before adding: “and I’m totally, totally for anybody who does do it for them; they get the maximum extent of [punishment for] whatever they’ve done.”

In 2019, in footage obtained by MailOnline, Stephen claimed Mel B was “infatuated with him”, saying: “Six years after we’re divorced, I have no idea why she brings my name up. She’s infatuated with me. I don’t know.” Asked if he had a message for Mel, he added: “Be at peace with yourself. Be at peace with yourself.”

MailOnline did not pay Stephen for his time and had no input on the questions or comments. His remarks were made to a videographer in the USA whose footage the outlet obtained, according to the Mail.

Mel, who campaigns for domestic abuse groups, received an MBE in 2022 for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women and became a patron of Women’s Aid, in 2018. Speaking on Loose Women about her allegations against Stephen, which he denies, she said: “I wasn’t just emotionally and physically abused, there was all the financial abuse too. I didn’t realise that I didn’t have as much money as I thought I had. So I literally had to eat humble pie, live with my mum.”

She added: “My mum was the kind of person that would say, ‘Oh you’ve left him now, you’re fine’. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Obviously any situation is better than being with your abuser, but when you’ve left that kind of abusive situation, it’s like starting all over again. You have to learn to trust people. You have to learn to trust yourself.”

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