Mel B only wore white for a year after she split from Stephen Belafonte - because she "didn't know" what colours she liked any more.
Mel B
The Spice Girls singer - who accused the producer of being abusive when they separated in 2017, though he has denied the claims - alleged her former husband used to insist she dressed in garments of certain hues when they were together so she overhauled her wardrobe once she was alone again, partly to "clear" herself of his control but also because she was so confused.
She said: "For the first year when I left my ex, I would only wear white because I felt I was clearing myself of that.
“I didn’t even know what colour I liked any more because those choices were taken away from me for so long. And I just accepted it.” S
Mel - who has Phoenix, 22, with first husband Jimmy Gulzar, Angel, 14, with Eddie Murphy, and nine-year-old Madison with Stephen - initially thought her then-husband was being "sweet" when he started buying clothes for her but ultimately realised it was part of his controlling behaviour.
She told The Guardian newspaper: “It starts with tiny things. 'Oh, don’t wear that dress – I’ve bought you this dress.'
“It wasn’t like: ‘Put this dress on!’ It was: ‘Look what I’ve bought for you! I saw you looking at it on Net-a-Porter.’ And you think: ‘Oh my God, that’s so sweet!” when actually they’re starting to take over everything.”
And the 'Stop' singer explained how Belafonte slowly isolated her away from her family without her realising.
She recalled: "He’d say: ‘Why are you calling your mum today? Come on, let’s go out.’
"Then you turn around and realise: ‘S***, I used to call my mum every day; I haven’t spoken to her in a week!’ Then that becomes a month and two months.”
It was only when Mel began speaking to abuse victims in her native Leeds that she realised how common coercive control can be within relationships.
She said: “It’s like abusers have all read the same handbook. Before you know it you don’t have your own front door key, or you don’t even drive your own car any more. Those ‘privileges’ which we worked so hard to get – your nice car, your nice house – are slowly taken away from you. Your power is taken away and the only person you have to rely on is your abuser.”
The 45-year-old star admitted she ignored a warning from one of Belafonte's previous partners about his behaviour when they were together.
She said: "My then-husband said: ‘Oh, she’s crazy.’ And he was so convincing. I believed him over her. I was frightened to believe her.”
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