I was called fat & ugly for years – now my man tells me I’m beautiful every day, says Spice Girl Mel B

MEL B is more Sexy Spice than Scary Spice these days as she heads towards the big 5-0.

Having struggled with her self-confidence following an “abusive” marriage, the singer says new fiancé Rory McPhee has helped her feel “more confident than ever”.

Healthy and toned Mel, 48, credits hair stylist Rory, who she met in 2018, for making her feel “beautiful” every day and loving her for who she is.

It has been a long road to recovery due to the emotional and physical trauma the singer claims she suffered while married to Stephen Belafonte, from 2007 to 2017.

Mel claims the film producer called her “fat and ugly”.

She explains: “I’ve been in the public eye since I was a teenager so you become quite thick-skinned when people make nasty remarks.

“The difference is when someone you are married to, someone who is meant to love and respect and treasure you, someone you share a home and a life with, starts ripping you apart, then it is very, very different.”

She claims: “He’d say, ‘You look old’, ‘you look fat’, ‘God, you are ugly’, ‘your arms are flabby’ week in, week out.

“In a way, those comments are like rain. They seep right into you, they wash away self-confidence, your sense of self and, when you look in the mirror, you don’t see a strong, happy woman — you see a reflection of what you’re told, ‘fat, ugly, old . . . worthless’.”

Stephen has made clear that he denies abusing Mel.

The singer admits it has taken a long time to rebuild her relationship with her body and it is an ongoing battle.

But she thanks 36-year-old Rory, who proposed last year, for being an integral part of that progress.

Mel says: “It has taken me years but I feel more confident than ever now and I’m with a partner who tells me he loves me and tells me I’m beautiful every day.

“Being with a man who loves me, being with my family, having trusted loving friends, it all helps.”

Embrace curves

But, ultimately, Mel is looking incredible as she approaches 50 because she has been passionate about healthy eating, exercise and avoiding fad diets.

It is something she is keen to instil in her three daughters so that they too can feel confident in their bodies.

She shares Phoenix Chi, 24, with former husband and dancer Jimmy Gulzar, Angel, 16, with actor Eddie Murphy, and 11-year-old Madison with Belafonte.

Mel says: “I tell them they are beautiful. I never talk about diets.

“I talk about health, fitness and strength. I grew up with my mum saying every Sunday night, ‘The diet starts tomorrow’.

“None of them worked, which is why I’ve always been passionate about eating healthily, exercising and understanding your body — from the amount of sleep you need to the level of water you should drink.

“I’ve worked with incredible personal trainers in my life and have learnt massive amounts.

“We need to think less about being thin and more about being fit.”

Keeping it real is hugely important to Mel, who was 19 when she was catapulted to fame in 1996 with the release of the Spice Girls’ debut single Wannabe.

Being in the spotlight in the Nineties, when waif-like supermodels such as Kate Moss were considered “fashionable”, forced Melanie to embrace her curves.

However, she acknowledges that women’s relationships with their figures have always been complex.

She says: “I grew up with my mum complaining all the time about her body so I realised early on how complicated that can be.

“I was always very much my own person. I was a mixed-race, working-class girl. I was a dancer.

“I had curves and a bum and wild curly hair so I was never going to be a cookie-cutter type and there was no point in trying.

“II didn’t compare myself to other girls because growing up in the Eighties there weren’t many celebrities who looked like me, so I tended not to have role models.”

Mel is pleased that attitudes towards women’s figures have since changed.

She says: “What I think is great now is that we have become much more accepting about curves and big bottoms.

“Back then, models like Kate Moss were super-skinny and then along came J.Lo and Kim Kardashian, who changed the way we feel about our curves.

“My message has always been: Accept who you are.

“All types of bodies are beautiful in their own way.”

Mel is so keen to push the “staying true to yourself” message that she made sure none of the pictures from her Pour Moi collection were airbrushed.

Of the clothing brand’s Own Your Confidence campaign, which her daughter Phoenix also starred in, she says: “Everyone has a right to put themselves out there as they want to be seen.

But for me, on this Pour Moi shoot, the idea was body confidence, so I want to be real, not a digitally improved version.

“We all have lumps, bumps, creases, cellulite and stretch marks that maybe we don’t want, but they are part of us.

“I was very keen not to airbrush these images because I am real, I am honest and I don’t want to have my waist slimmed or my thighs trimmed.”

She adds: “We are all beautiful as we are — we all have little imperfections, but it’s about confidence shining through.

“I do worry about the impact of social media on young kids but that’s a huge topic.

“That’s why it’s even more important to see real women as they really are.”

Teaming up with Pour Moi also gave Mel an unexpected surprise.

She explains: “I went into this campaign thinking I knew my bra size. It turns out I was completely mistaken, and what a difference it’s made.

“It was a shock. I was convinced I was a 34D. I did a measuring session on a Zoom video call.

“Hannah, the fitter, looked at me, asked me to turn this way and that and then said, ‘You’re 32DD’. I was like, ‘No way. That’s wrong. You can’t tell my body size on Zoom’.

“I got a measuring tape and measured where she told me to measure — under my bust — and sure enough it was exactly 32. She was spot on.

“Not only did my correct size give me a better fit, but my clothes also looked better on me, plus I felt more comfortable as a result.”

It is another win for Mel, whose personal life and career continue to go from strength to strength.

As well as planning her wedding to Rory, Mel has just made a sensational return to America’s Got Talent, alongside model Heidi Klum and boss Simon Cowell, and will be judging the show’s Fantasy League series next year.

And then there is the oft-rumoured Spice Girls reunion.

Mel will also continue her work with Women’s Aid, the domestic abuse charity she is a patron of.

Pour Moi is sharing a percentage of the profits from Mel’s campaign to the charity.

Mel says: “As their patron, that means so much to me.”

• Own Your Confidence with Pour Moi’s lingerie, clothing, nightwear and sportswear at pourmoi.co.uk/own-your-confidence.