Mel B's estranged husband Stephen Belafonte claims the former Spice Girl battled a cocaine and alcohol addiction. Photo / Getty
Mel B's estranged husband Stephen Belafonte claims the former Spice Girl battled a cocaine and alcohol addiction. Photo / Getty
Mel B battled a cocaine and alcohol addiction which impacted her marriage and her ability to care for her three children, a bombshell legal declaration by her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte has claimed.
According to the declaration, included in a shocking court filing obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, the America's Got Talent judge was said to have a "habitual and consistent" addiction to the party drug and alcohol.
The declaration, backed up by dozens of text messages between Beverly Hills marriage therapist Dr Charles Sophy, Mel B and estranged Belafonte, details the bitter fall out between the couple after they separated and how Belafonte feared for the "safety" of the three children.
DailyMail.com has learned that Mel B failed in an attempt to have the explosive documents sealed at a court hearing last week.
Belafonte, details the bitter fall out between the couple after they separated and how Belafonte feared for the "safety" of the three children.
A source told DailyMail.com that Mel's drug and alcohol abuse were the real reason for the separation that Belafonte was blind-sided by the star's subsequent allegations of domestic abuse.
In the declaration, Belafonte, 42, says: "The biggest reason for my concern with respect to the safety of the children was due to the Petitioner's habitual and consistent addiction to and abuse of cocaine and alcohol.
"To make matters worse, my fear for the children's safety was amplified due to the fact that Petitioner had fired the children's nanny, who had been in the children's lives sine 2010 and I did not want Petitioner using drugs and drinking around the children especially without anyone else present to care for the children.
"Petitioner's drinking and drug abuse had been a major issue throughout our marriage and was witnessed by the nanny, the children, and her own therapist, Dr Sophy."
Mel, 42, fired nanny Lorraine Gilles and later accused her of sleeping with her husband behind her back and even falling pregnant with his baby, claims Belafonte and the nanny have denied.
The revealing three-way text message exchanges came at the height of their troubles shortly after they had separated in March 2017.
Mel B with her estranged husband Stephen Belafonte in 2014. Photo / Getty
In the text messages, Dr Sophy is seen on the messages as "Dr Sofey", Belafonte is "baby" and Mel B is "Mother 2014".
The texts reveal how mom-of-three Mel agreed to take a daily dose of prescription drug Antabuse to tackle her alcoholism, which according to Dr Sophy, would prove she would be "safe" around her kids, daughter Madison, who turns six today, Angel, ten, and Phoenix Chi, now 18, the paperwork states.
Antabuse is a drug used in the treatment of chronic alcoholism by producing an acute sensitivity to ethanol (drinking alcohol), making the user feel the effects of a hangover almost immediately after drinking.
In a message discussing the "agreed-upon" plan, Dr Sophy also informed Belafonte that he would be giving Mel shots of Vivitrol every 30 days commencing March 19.
Vivitrol injections are used to prevent relapse in people who became dependent on opioid medicine, as well as the treatment of alcoholism.
The pyschiatrist, who was acting as an "intermediary" between the couple also said Mel would have a 'hair test' on a regular basis and random drug testing on a weekly basis.
Belafonte states in the document: "During the text exchange...in order to try to ease my concerns, Dr. Sophy, a mandated reporter, informed me that he would try to control Petitioner's alcohol and drug abuse and that he and Petitioner made an agreement regarding Petitioner's 'substance abuse', as well as 'child safety'."
The movie producer says a prior agreement that he could see his step-daughter Angel as well as Madison wasn't maintained.
He accuses Mel of going back on her word and working in "concert" with Dr Sophy, according to the paperwork.
Belafonte said: "Petitioner and Dr. Sophy, apparently acting in concert, ignored my requests to see Angel, and instead, Petitioner stated, 'The kids are so happy here at the house no drama at all,' implying that there was no trauma to the children as a result of the divorce."
He added: "I was entirely shocked and disturbed that Petitioner had unilaterally decided to drastically change out agreed-upon custody plan...particularly during this difficult transition period."
Beverly Hills psychiatrist Dr Sophy is still involved with Mel, and was photographed acting as a chaperone for her daughter Madison during a scheduled visitation with her father Belafonte last month.
The TV doctor, who has appeared on a string of shows including on Dr Phil, Today, The View and CNN, is also the Medical Director for the County of Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services.
In the papers Belafonte documents his close relationship with stepdaughter Angel - who he claims Mel is preventing him from seeing.
Mel B arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards last week. Photo / AP
The dad-of-one says Angel, whose biological father is Eddie Murphy, regularly calls him "daddy" and "dad" and claims the 10-year-old had "no idea" Belafonte was not her biological father prior to their separation.
Belafonte states: "I am the step-parent to Angel and I have been the only father that Angel has ever truly known since her infancy."
He claims his former wife agreed that he should have "frequent and continuous visitation" with both Madison, his biological daughter, and Angel, during and after their separation and divorce.
"I did not want either Madison or Angel hurt or damaged by this divorce. The most important thing to me was to protect the well-being of our children.
"Petitioner and I agreed and prepared our children and told them together that nothing was going to change after this divorce and that the only main difference is that we would just have two separate homes."
Belafonte revealed his heartbreak over not being able to see his kids.
"The children cried and I assured them that Petitioner and I both love them and would see them all the time and I would never leave them," he said in the declaration.
However he claims that Mel B later reneged on her promise and has denied him regular visitation with Angel.
He goes on to reveal his close bond with Angel including how he fed, swaddled and comforted her when she was a baby and how he takes an "active role" in her education - helping her with homework and tests.
The papers go into huge detail about the games and activities Belafonte and his stepdaughter used to do together including creating a Youtube channel, wiring songs and poems and going swimming.
"Aside from taking care of Angel's needs, I was also the father who made sure that Angel always felt supported and encouraged," he says in the documents.
"From a young age Angel has always been very creative and artistic and I noticed these traits in her very early on.
"As a result Angel and I often spent time creating storylines for different 'sketches'.
"For instance, I would start off by formulating a storyline and a character such as acting like a weatherman and Angel would continue this storyline by portraying other characters in the story, such as another news reporter.
"Other times, Angel dressed up as a princess and played with Barbie dolls and i would watch as she created different storylines and characters with the Barbie dolls and I would jump in and play with her."
He described one time that a glass shower door accidentally fell on the little girl leaving her with "gashes and cuts on her body".
"I rushed Angel to the hospital...I was the father who was there for Angel throughout her hospital stay and I made sure she was comforted, that she was not in pain and not scared, and she knew she would be alright.
"On the few occasion the I left her bedside to go in the hallway, I was informed that Angel was asking nurses where I was.
"When I came back into the hospital room, Angel asked me, 'Daddy are you here?' with a huge smile on her face.
"On this occasion and many others, I told Angel that I would always be there for her."
Belafonte says that Mel B "repeatedly confirmed" to him that she has full legal custody of Angel - even sending one text that read: "Eddie gave me full and that's that."
Belafonte says he needs to be part of Angel's life because he knows the youngster so well - and wants to "maintain frequent contact" and continue being a "positive presence" in her life.
He also acknowledged that he has "no intention of disrupting or intruding on Angel's relationships with her biological father or her mother."
"Over the years I have created an extremely strong bond and relationship with Angel ... By all intents and purpose I am Angel's father," he says.
Mel was granted a temporary restraining order against her ex on April 3 after accusing him of physically and emotionally abusing her.
She alleged that she was "in fear" for her life after a series of beatings and that Belafonte's alleged abuse ramped up when her career was on an upswing.
Mel B (second from left) on America's Got Talent with fellow judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell. Photo / AP
In her petition in April, Mel claimed she was forced to pull out of The X Factor finale in 2014 because Belafonte had beaten her up and caused her to take an overdose of Aspirin.
In legal documents, the popstar claims she took the drug in a "moment of emotional and physical exhaustion" and she immediately regretted the action and tried to call an ambulance, but alleges Belafonte blocked her attempt to get help.
She accuses Belafonte of telling her to "die b***h" and locking her in a bedroom with no phone access.
A 16-day trial has been scheduled for September 25 to hammer out the star's request for a permanent restraining order against Belafonte.
Earlier this week DailyMail.com exclusively revealed a video of Mel partying with celebrity hair stylist Gary Manatyan as well as AGT co-judge Heidi Klum and her boyfriend Vito Schnabel.
Onlookers said that Mel was drinking what appeared to be vodka, while her rugged looking date had champagne.
It's not clear whether the former Spice Girls singer, nicknamed Scary Spice, is still battling addiction.
DailyMail.com also revealed Thursday that Mel is "smitten" with a Beverly Hills police officer and hostage negotiator called Ryan Lawrence who has been staying over at her house and spending time with her children.
