Stephen Belafonte was spotted in the UK for the first time on Tuesday as he joined his daughter Madison amid his £4million defamation case against his ex-wife Mel B after she wrote publicly about their “abusive relationship”.
Stephen and Mel, both 49, were married from 2007 to 2017 and share daughter Madison, 12.
The Spice Girl has accused Stephen of physical and emotional abuse over the years, and claimed the financial abuse left her with just £700 to her name when they split.
Mel B previously shared her heartbreak after US courts ruled that Madison must live with her father because she is a US citizen.
And ignoring the case, Stephen was all smiles as he joked with Madison at an estate outside London.
Stephen Belafonte, 49, was spotted in the UK for the first time on Tuesday as he joined his daughter Madison, 12, amid his £4million defamation case against ex-wife Mel B, also 49, after she wrote publicly about her “abusive relationship.”
Stephen and Mel were married from 2007 to 2017 and share their 12-year-old daughter Madison.
The Spice Girl has accused Stephen of physical and emotional abuse over the years, and claimed the financial abuse left her with just £700 to her name when they split (pictured in 2016).
The father-daughter duo couldn’t wipe the smile off their faces as they played with dogs, ducks and goats in the backyard.
A source said Mirror on Monday that Stephen had arrived in the United Kingdom with plans to drop his daughter off at Mel’s house, but that the singer did not want to speak to him.
The source said: “Stephen is pressing ahead with the court case but wants to keep things as amicable as possible for the sake of his daughter.”
“He’s happy to sit and talk to Mel, but she doesn’t want to talk to him or see him.”
The film producer is suing Mel, alleging that she “engaged in a deliberate and wide-ranging campaign to cause him serious emotional distress and destroy his reputation,” it was revealed in May.
Stephen alleges that Mel began her “long-standing harassment” in 2017 with “fraudulent” domestic violence allegations, which he claims were ultimately dismissed.
But he later admitted: “The damage had already been done.” As a result of false accusations of rape, illegal gun possession, sex trafficking, illegal pornography production, domestic assault, and child endangerment, Mr. Belafonte lost access to his home and his children.
‘The American film producer is suing Mel alleging that she ‘engaged in a deliberate and wide-ranging campaign to cause him serious emotional distress and destroy his reputation.’
Appearing on Loose Women in March, Mel B revealed that five years after leaving Stephen, she was still suffering from panic attacks and PTSD, and had previously tried to end her marriage six or seven times.
Mel B previously shared her heartbreak after US courts ruled that Madison must live with her father because she is a US citizen.
And ignoring the million pound case, Stephen was all smiles as he joked with Madison at an estate outside London.
The father-daughter duo couldn’t wipe the smile off their faces as they played with dogs, ducks and goats in the backyard.
A source said on Monday that Stephen had arrived in the UK with plans to drop his daughter off at Mel’s house, but that the singer did not want to speak to him.
The source said: “Stephen is pressing ahead with the court case but wants to keep things as amicable as possible for the sake of his daughter.”
He added: “He’s happy to sit and talk to Mel but she doesn’t want to talk to him or see him.”
The film producer is suing Mel, alleging that she “engaged in a deliberate and wide-ranging campaign to cause him serious emotional distress and destroy his reputation,” it was revealed in May.
Speaking on Loose Women, Mel appeared on the show during its Facing It Together campaign, which aims to raise awareness about domestic abuse.
Over the years, Mel B has accused him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, claims he denies.
Mel told the panel she was reluctant to leave Stephen because she had completely excluded herself from her family.
She said: ‘Although I was married for ten years, I tried to leave him six or seven times. I returned out of fear or blackmail.
“You think, ‘What am I going to do if I leave? I haven’t spoken to my mother in weeks, then months, then years.’ It happens very gradually.”
‘You feel like you’re doing everything wrong and they encourage that feeling. I went from living in a mansion in Los Angeles to my mother’s bungalow with my children.’
Mel also appeared on the show to talk about the release of a revised version of her autobiography Brutally Honest.
She said: ‘Writing the book was cathartic. But in 2018 it was a taboo topic and no editor wanted it.’
Stephen alleges that Mel began her “long-standing harassment” in 2017 with “fraudulent” domestic violence allegations, which he claims were ultimately dismissed.
Over the years, Mel B has accused him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, claims he denies (pictured in 2015).
Of the dark period of her life, plagued by financial stress, she said: “People will assume, ‘She’s rich, she’s a Spice Girl.’
“But I went from performing to thousands of people at Wembley on the Spice Girls’ 13-date reunion tour in 2019 to crashing into my mother’s house with my children sleeping in bed with me.
“I didn’t expect that to happen in my 40s after a successful career, but I had nowhere to go because my relationship affected me so badly financially that I had to recover.”
Mel spent five years saving and this month moved to a converted farmhouse in West Yorkshire.
In addition to her work with the Spice Girls, Mel had regained her fortune, landing lucrative jobs on American television shows such as the US version of Strictly Come Dancing – Dancing with the Stars – and as a judge on America’s Got Talent while living in Los Angeles.
He also appeared as a judge on The X Factor in the UK before returning home for good.
