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Spice Girls star Mel B has spoken about how her ex-partner would allegedly cause her to doubt herself, as things around the house would disappear then reappear in unusual places.
The artist born Melanie Brown has been vocal over the years about her experiences of domestic abuse, detailing them in her 2018 memoir, Brutally Honest.
Appearing on the second episode of singer Paloma Faith’s podcast, Mad, Sad & Bad, Brown spoke about the alleged “coercive control and manipulation” that resulted in her feeling “like I was going mad”.
“I would think, ‘I know where I’ve put my diamond earrings, I know that they’re there at the side of the bed’, but he would move them then blame me, and then it would be, you’re irresponsible,” the 39-year-old said.
“Oh look, I found them in the fridge and I’d question myself, maybe I did put them in the fridge.
“A lot of that went on and I literally felt like I was going mad and I would double check myself … almost like you were living in a fantasy world where I know that that wasn’t there before and I know where my coffee mug is.”
The Brit Award-winning singer said she had to learn how to trust her own instincts after leaving the relationship: “Because there’s so much self-doubt because for 10 years you’ve been made to feel whatever you thought was completely the opposite.”
While Brown did not name her ex-partner in the interview, she has previously accused her ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte – with whom she shares a young daughter – of domestic abuse. He has always vehemently denied the allegations.
“Abusers, they find you,” Brown said. “They find you when you’re either at your most vulnerable or when you’re at your happiest. It’s a challenge to them to see how they can get you and how they can then start to manipulate and it doesn’t happen all at once.
“They love-bomb you, they show up like they’re your knight in shining armour and then slowly over time they show their true colours.”
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Brown said one of the red flags, which could often be difficult to see at the time, was a feeling of “not [being] safe”.
“I talk with a lot of survivors and they all do the same things,” she said. “You just think, how did this happen to me? 10 years, where did that go? I had to build myself back up and I was like, ‘That’s so sad that happened to me’.”
Brown is currently engaged to Rory McPhee, whom she has known since she was young and who also knew her late father.
She admitted that she hadn’t planned to get back into a relationship: “I’m trying to repair myself and repair all these broken relationships with my mum and my sister and make sure my kids are ok. That’s my priority, and it still is my priority, it’s just he was always there.”
In May last year, Belafonte filed a defamation suit against Brown, saying he had “never physically, sexually, emotionally or financially abused” the star.
The former couple married in 2007, with Brown filing for divorce in March 2017; the divorce was finalised in 2018.
Belafonte is seeking at least $5m in damages and wants a trial by jury, punitive damages and a gag order against Brown.
The Independent has contacted Belafonte’s representatives for comment.
‘Mad, Sad and Bad’ is available now on streaming services.