Mel B has turned to a Sydney nanny to look after her kids as she goes through bitter divorce
A SYDNEY nanny has emerged as Mel B’s rock with the former Spice Girl embroiled in an increasingly messy divorce from her allegedly abusive husband.
Confidential
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A SYDNEY nanny has emerged as Mel B’s rock with the former Spice Girl embroiled in an increasingly messy divorce from her allegedly abusive husband.
Lauren McCartney is a trusted confidante of the singer, real name Melanie Brown, having been hand-picked to look after her three children while she tackles her bitter divorce battle with estranged husband Stephen Belafonte.
Brown, 41, has taken out a restraining order against the US film producer, accusing him of beating her, forcing her to have threesomes and getting previous nanny Lorraine Gilles pregnant before making her have an abortion.
Revelations he allegedly drove Brown to attempt suicide are also contained in explosive court documents.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Ms McCartney, who lives in Cronulla, has spent the past two weeks with Brown in Los Angeles having been hand-picked by the former The X Factor Australia star.
She was photographed with Brown’s daughter Phoenix, 18, while her mum was on the set of America’s Got Talent.
Brown was introduced to Ms McCartney, who has previously dated former NRL player Jack Elsegood, when she was in Sydney last year filming The X Factor.
Tellingly, Belafonte remained in the US for most of the nearly eight weeks Brown and her two youngest daughters, Madison and Angel, spent Down Under.
Belafonte arrived on the final day of production with the family spending a few days together before heading back to America.
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While living without Belafonte at the InterContinental Hotel in Double Bay, sources say Brown appeared “fit, healthy and happy”.
“Mel was working out, she was really focused and totally happy,” one friend said. “Looking back, that would probably be because she didn’t have Stephen breathing down her neck. Stephen could be very intimidating when he was around, to her and to others.”
Brown filed for divorce from Belafonte last month citing “irreconcilable differences”.
According to the singer’s court declaration, the couple hired German exchange student Ms Gilles to be a nanny for their daughter Madison, 5, in 2010.
“I later discovered (Belafonte) was having sex with Lorraine and paying her inordinate amounts of money,” she said.
Brown claims that in 2014 Ms Gilles told her she was pregnant by Belafonte, who allegedly demanded the nanny have an abortion and used Brown’s money to pay for it.
He denies all the allegations.
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