Brutally Honest is the hugely emotional and impactful memoir by Melanie Brown AKA Spice Girl, Mel B. I was in tears so many times listening (I had the audiobook version) to her story. Mel went through years of spousal abuse and coercive control. The positive, in-control persona she presented as her alter ego, Scary Spice was miles away from what was actually happening to her.
Mel B – in her own words
The book opens on a traumatic incident that was the catalyst for her leaving her abusive husband – her 2014 suicide attempt. She was on prime-time TV as a judge on the X-factor and I do remember reading lots of press coverage around the fact she missed a few shows. To discover this was the reason – and what led her to do it – has been truly shocking.
Immediately, you notice the interesting structure of Brutally Honest. It’s 13 chapters in before she tells her Spice Girls story – that wasn’t her motivation for writing this book. The revelations in Brutally Honest are just that – Mel B lays herself bare here to warn others about the signs of abuse (things to look out for and stats are peppered throughout).
While Brutally Honest isn’t a detailed account of the Spice Girls story, Mel does share how she joined the band and their early fame experiences. She also says how all her Spice-sisters reached out to support her when they found out what happened. Mel C in particular comes across as an absolute gem.
Her father and roots
Mel’s dad had a huge impact on her life. She talks about her family’s roots as slaves on the Caribbean island of Nevis and how her dad as an immigrant to the UK – Leeds – experienced so much racism. Something she herself experienced growing up mixed-race, as a child and as a Spice Girl: ‘cool Britannia was very white.’
She tells how she grew up in a family who never addressed their emotions and repressed their feelings and acknowledges that her pattern of accepting abuse in relationships was due to way dad treated her – but she loved him so much.
Eddie & Stephen
To say Mel had a toxic pattern in her relationships would be accurate.
Mel gives insight into her relationship with Hollywood actor, Eddie Murphy. She was with him for 9 months and totally in love with him. Eddie does not sound like a good guy, even when she’s trying to sell him like that. He was wildly controlling of her and then ignored her for years after leaving her and their baby, Angel (along with denying paternity).
Very tellingly, she says Eddie is like her dad. The pattern between Eddie’s behaviour to her and that of her first husband, Jimmy Gulzar and second husband, Stephen Belafonte is clear.
From 2007 – 2017, Mel B was married to Stephen Belafonte. He abused her mentally and physically for decade. It’s horrific hearing Mel talk through all the ways he hurt and manipulated her.
She waited for her dad to die in 2017 before leaving Stephen so her dad wouldn’t see the sex tapes her husband had made or have to hear how bad it got for her.
An advocate and inspiration
“I never wanted anyone to pity me.”
Mel B says she looks back now and wonders what she was doing, she knows it all contradicts her Scary Spice persona. She thought she was protecting her kids from the abuse but now sees she wasn’t. From her mum to her friends and personal assistant, everyone hated Stephen but she refused to see it.
As a huge Spice Girls fan back in the day, I was truly shocked and saddened to hear all Mel B has been through, my heart goes out to her. There are such visceral moments in this book. I’m so happy that she has control of her life back. In 2022 Mel B received an MBE for her services to charitable causes and vulnerable women. It’s amazing she is now using her experience to help others who might find themselves in similar positions. What a woman.
Brutally Honest is narrated by actress Zaraah Abrahams who does an excellent job and there are also highly emotive chapters read by Mel’s mum, Andrea and eldest daughter, Phoenix. It then ends with an interview between Mel B and Louise Gannon, the journalist and author who wrote Brutally Honest. It was so interesting to hear them explain their process and for Mel to explain further why she wanted the book to exist.
- Audiobook narrated by Zaraah Abrahams (Melanie Brown intro)
- Running time: 11h 8 mins
- Get your copy of Brutally Honest here;
- Published by Quadrille Publishing 2018;
- 270 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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