Mel B says fiance Rory McPhee made her 'believe in love again'
After years of unhappiness, Melanie 'Mel B' Brown lets love show the way.
In an exclusive interview with We weeklythe America's Got Talent: Fantasy League judge, 48, spoke candidly about the rocky road that led her to fiancé Rory McPhee. “I didn't believe in love and trust because I was abused so badly for 10 years that when I came out I thought, 'I don't want a relationship,'” Brown said. “I was so broken in my self-esteem, my self-confidence [and] I really had to build myself up.”
The Spice Girl has spoken out about her troubled marriage to her ex Stephen Belafonte, whom she accused of emotional and physical abuse. In her memoirs Ruthlessly honest, Brown opened up about attempting suicide around the same time Belafonte — who was acting as her manager — threatened to release a library of sex tapes. (The couple, who were married for 10 years before Brown filed for divorce in 2017, share daughter Madison, 12.)
“It was too scary for me to share myself with someone else again, but Rory is a family friend so I already have that trust and that foundation has been laid,” says the mother of three, who is also the 24- year-old Phoenix shares with ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar and daughter Angel, 16, with Eddie Murphy – continued. “It just felt safe and right and real, even though I often said, 'No, I don't want a relationship, I can't handle it.'”
After three years of dating, McPhee proposed in 2022 during a romantic getaway in Berkshire, UK – and Brown shared Us she has finally found her Happily Ever After. “He's just the best thing that happened to me,” she says. “He made me believe in love and trust again.”
Another benefit of locking up the hairstylist? “He made my curls flow again!” she joked.
Brown – who earned an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her work with victims of domestic violence in 2022 – gushed about her upcoming wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, despite no date being set in stone was standing. just. “I'm waiting for that and then I can go full steam ahead,” she explained of the wedding planning.
Whether she ties the knot in 2024 or not, it's already shaping up to be a big year for Brown. Not only did she tease an upcoming Spice Girls project that will be announced “soon,” she's also releasing another new release. Ruthlessly honest with new chapters in March and is currently enjoying her grand return to the America has talent jury for the spin-off of the series, AGT: Fantasy League.
“It's been about five or six years since I was last on the [America’s Got Talent] panel, so when they asked me to participate, I thought, 'Oh, perfect timing for me,'” she adds. “I really missed it, actually this was the right time.”
America's Got Talent: Fantasy League airs on NBC Mondays at 8pm ET