Amid all the sad and scary drama for Mel B in her divorce from abuser Stephen Belafonte there’s the issue of custody of their five year-old daughter together, Madison. Stephen was also seeking visitation with another one of Mel’s daughters, Angel, 10, from a relationship Mel had with Eddie Murphy. Incidentally, the last time Stephen posted on Instagram was to wish Angel a happy tenth birthday, and he called her “my daughter” in that post. A judge issued a ruling in Mel’s case yesterday and they upheld the temporary restraining order which she took out against Stephen (those details are here in case you missed them) and also granted him supervised visitation with Madison. Stephen’s request to see Angel was denied, thankfully. Here are the details:
Melanie “Mel B” Brown‘s restraining order against estranged husband Stephen Belafonte will remain in place following her allegations that he beat, threatened and exploited her during their marriage, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Monday.
Brown initially requested the temporary restraining order against Belafonte after filing for divorce earlier this month. The order will remain in effect through the end of the couple’s divorce hearing.
However, Belafonte — who appeared in court for the ruling — will now be allowed supervised visitation with the couple’s only biological daughter, Madison. Belafonte – who filed for joint custody of Madison – will get two, four-hour sessions with the 5-year-old per week at the Ness Counseling Center in L.A.
His request for visitation with Brown’s daughter Angel, whose father is the star’s ex Eddie Murphy, was denied. Brown also shares 18-year-old daughter Phoenix with Murphy.
“We’re very grateful and happy,” Grace Jamra, Belafonte’s attorney, said. She told reporters that his appearance in court is one of many, and Belafonte is hoping to get custody.
Brown’s attorney Larry Bakman argued against the first ruling, claiming in court that there is evidence that Belafonte is involved in filming pornographic movies, reportedly at their home, and that he allowed a convicted felon into the family’s house.
After the hearing, he told reporters of the allegations, “Were still developing the evidence so I’m not willing to comment.”
“If visitation were to be granted, and it was, in such a fashion that it ensured the safety of the mother’s child that’s the most important thing to Mel B,” he added.
Brown was not present for the hearing, but was photographed out and about in L.A. on Monday.
I’m glad Mel didn’t have to face her abuser in court, but of course there are photos of Stephen there, grinning like a Chesire cat. It sounds like a decent outcome for now and hopefully all of Stephen’s visits with his daughter will be monitored for the foreseeable future.
Yesterday we reported on the story that Mel’s former nanny, a 25 year-old German national named Lorraine Gilles, is suing Mel for defamation following Mel’s claim that Lorraine was conspiring with Stephen to extort and threaten her. The nanny has provided personal photos to People Magazine, including the paparazzi photos of Mel and Lorraine together in bikinis in Mexico that we published yesterday, to prove that they had a consensual sexual relationship. The photos are chaste and show Mel and Lorraine posing together and looking happy, in one case Mel is kissing Lorraine on the cheek.
In Lorraine’s declaration she claimed that she had an intimate relationship with Mel that continued for years, and that Mel seduced her when she was just 18. Lorraine’s lawsuit also stated that her pregnancy in 2014, which was terminated, resulted from a one night stand and wasn’t Stephen’s. TMZ has a follow-up from a source who insists that Lorraine did get pregnant by Stephen. Their source also states that while Mel had threesomes with Lorraine and Stephen, they had an agreement that Lorraine and Stephen wouldn’t hook up without Mel and that the two of them broke that pact. Oh and I didn’t mention Mel’s lawyer’s claim that Stephen has been making porn at their house because of course he has.
Photos credit: FameFlynet
“Their source also states that while Mel had threesomes with Lorraine and Stephen, they had an agreement that Lorraine and Stephen wouldn’t hook up without Mel and that the two of them broke that pact. ”
This is what I said yesterday. I really don’t think that that’s a hard to believe scenario.
I don’t think anyone’s denying the fact that the nanny may have crossed the line by sleeping with Mel’s husband one on one. I just think some felt it was a bit unfair to characterize her as this evil home-wrecking slut. The situation seems to be very complicated and messy. Loraine was an 18 year who was invited into a relationship with an older female celebrity and her abusive husband. I have sympathy for both women.
I have sympathy for both of them, though it’s more in Mel’s favor. There were some people who really were laying it on thick yesterday – “oh this poor little girl, she’s been hoodwinked into a relationship with this sexually deviant woman!” The girl was 18 – an adult. She was also an 18 year old who had traveled to another country for work – likely not some super sheltered baby. I know that the maturity levels of 18 year olds can vary a ton – but for all intents and purposes, she was a consenting adult who was self-motivated and determined enough to leave her home in search of work in another country- which isn’t a super easy thing to do.
I think she’s a victim in some ways, but I also don’t think her current response is shining all that positive a light on herself. This is the same woman who I believe had taken the kids out of the country without her permission, is it not? She’s also happily leaking photos to the media – which prove very little to me. She was pretty much a family member- she was with them for a long time, and helped raise the kids. Sisters take photos that look like those; best friends take photos that look like those. She feels like she’s unfairly being attacked, but when it comes to detailing the marital issues, if the nanny was involved in those issues, it only makes sense to submit that sort of thing in the filing. It sucks – but if she DID do the things Mel is claiming, then I have little sympathy for her in that aspect.
Yeah, I believe this. I know of a couple who had a rule like this.
They broke up when the guy started sleeping with the other women without his partner, so basically like this, but with less abuse and less creepy involving 18 year olds.
Ground rules are quite common with open relationships which normally breakdown when one party breaks said ground rules and the trust that goes with having these rules in place.
I’ve heard of some couples having rules like that.
And I can agree with not outing her private sexual information and identity, but there was also the issue of her taking the kids without permission and helping Bellafonte hide tapes he planned to blackmail Mel with as well as her personal property. (Plus him using Mel’s money for her).
Feeling uncomfortable just looking at him.
How did MelB come across the nanny when she is from a different country and also not a professional nanny.
Was she an Au Pair.
The whole thing is so sick and TM you found the perfect picture of the dirtbag
From the way the nanny told the story, it sounded like Mel and Stephen picked her up in LA for a one time thing, but Mel and Lorraine kept sleeping together afterwards. They became friends, and Mel eventually offered her the nanny job. Mel, Stephen and Lorraine had sex on and off for years while Lorraine looked after the kids.
Sloppy reporting at People, am surprised: Mel’s eldest daughter Phoenix is not Eddie Murphy’s, she’s from her 1st marriage to her backup dancer Jimmy Gulzar.
UH. Is their daughter throwing a ‘shocker’ in that last photo???????? Get that creep away from those girls.
OH my.
It certainly looks deliberate 🙁
I don’t know whether Mel B took advantage of a naive 18-year-old or not, but in any case, I feel that if she and Lorraine had a consensual relationship, perhaps Stephen grew jealous of that closeness (as most abusers do) and decided to drive a wedge between them. The younger one many times is easier to groom, manipulate, and influence, and he went down that route, feeding Lorraine stories about Mel and starting an affair with her to get back at Mel. Abusers cannot handle the competition, and maybe he saw Lorraine as HIS competition, if that makes sense. I have no idea, pure speculation, but I wouldn’t be surprised. This is all around sad and I hope Stephen never hurts the girls (any further than he already has).
+1 That’s basically what I think happened.
That wouldn’t be surprising, since jealousy was a recurring theme in details about his abuse of her.
I thought Jimmy Gulzar was Phoenix’s father, not Eddie Murphy.