Mel B Opens Up on Being a Single Mom Again After Nasty Split from Stephen Belafonte

Melanie “Mel B” Brown says she’s adjusting to life as a single mom again, nearly six months after her nasty split from husband Stephen Belafonte. 

“My kids are great. [They’re] 18, 10 and 5,” the America’s Got Talent judge told reporters after a taping of the show. “They’re all doing amazing and they’re all lovely.”

“I just make them all listen to me,” she said. “And they don’t always do.”

Brown added, “I was a single parent for a long time with Phoenix, so I kind of learned that way, and moms always know best.”

Phoenix, 18, is Brown’s daughter from her first marriage, to dancer Jimmy Gulzar. Brown and Gulzar split about a year after Phoenix was born.

The 42-year-old singer admits that there is no one rule when it comes to parenting as a single mom.

“There’s no advice that I could give. Every mother, every parent is different,” Brown said. “The number one rule is you show your kid lots of love and respect, and you treat your kid how you want them to treat other people.” 

Brown filed for divorce from Belafonte in March after almost 10 years of marriage. In explosive court documents, she accused Belafonte – the father of Brown’s youngest child, Madison – of abuse. Belafonte denied the allegations and was awarded $40,000 a month in spousal support by a judge last month. The former couple are in court again next month.

Brown also joked that she’s “so happy to be single right now” after a group of hunky a capella singers from the Air Force Academy finished their rendition of “Some Nights” on Monday night’s quarterfinal episode of America’s Got Talent.

When she’s not parenting, Brown likes to meditate and work on the art of Reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation.

“I do a lot of Reiki,” she said. “I listen to a lot of guided meditation, chakras and all that kind of stuff.”