The Spice Girls star has opened up her private life for television series Mel B: It’s a Scary World. She insists she wants people to see her as she truly is, rather than what is reported about her. Mel expects the programme to provoke strong reactions from viewers – but she doesn’t mind.
“People judge and have their opinions and comments about me anyway, so I would rather people judge on what they see as fact, rather than what they read or hearsay – which nine times out of ten isn’t true,” Mel told British television presenter Lorraine Kelly. “I just thought, ‘What have I got to lose?’ I will just show it all and then you can love me or hate me.”
Mel’s husband Stephen Belafonte and her two daughters - Phoenix, 11, and three-year-old Angel – will also appear in the show. The singer was initially worried about how her kids would react to being followed around by cameras – but she was pleasantly surprised by their response.
However, the 35-year-old star admits her daughters have become so confident in front of the camera crew, she fears they may already be keen to get involved in show business.
“We did a tester for two weeks to see if the kids felt comfortable and they loved it more than we did, it was quite frightening! I was like, ‘Oh dear, what am I breeding here?’” Mel laughed.
Mel will be happy for both Phoenix and Angel to pursue an ambition to be famous, but she wants them to finish school first. She has told them their education has to come before a desire to be a star.
“They are surrounded by the entertainment world, and what I say to them both - even though Angel is only three – is work on your education,” Mel explained. “If they want to be in the entertainment world treat it as a hobby and then go for it. I am all for supporting that.”
Mel also addressed rumours about her marriage, insisting she and Stephen are still in love and aren’t planning to split. She has confirmed they do have counselling sessions together, but the star believes talking about their problems with an expert is the best way to clear the air.
Mel claims she isn’t afraid of her relationship being filmed, saying the couple are “very open”.
“Me and my husband are so close, we do business together and sometimes the boundaries get crossed and we have to take time out to spend time as husband and wife. We have date night once a week, we go to therapy, but no we aren’t getting divorced,” she said. “I think it’s important to leave those lines of communication open and therapy helps us do that. The last thing that either of us would want is for something small to get built up into something big. So it gets squashed immediately at therapy.”