Back to her mother with 700 pounds: Mel B had to shop at Aldi and Lidl after her separation

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Melanie Brown: From Aldi to the Order

Photo: Dominic Lipinski / dpa

Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown (Mel B) says she had to shop at Aldi and Lidl after her split from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte.

The 48-year-old told the British tabloid “The Sun” according to a report published on Saturday.

She only had 700 pounds (around 820 euros today) in her pocket when she left her then husband in 2017 and returned to Great Britain from the USA.

There she found refuge with her mother, where she shared a bed with her children, said the singer and TV judge.

She saved for five years before she could move back in with her mother.

With a mask in the discount store

"I didn't think that this would happen to me when I was over 40, after a successful career, but I didn't know where to go," said the ex-member of the British girl group, formerly known as Scary Spice.

Her life has now stabilized financially again.

Since her visits to Aldi and Lidl occurred during the Covid pandemic, she was not recognized because of her mask.

The report quoted Brown as saying that it was the first time she had stood in line somewhere in a "long time."

In May 2021, Mel B spoke publicly in an interview with the Guardian about having experienced domestic violence in her marriage to film producer Stephen Belafonte.

She sued him for abuse.

However, there was no verdict: the proceedings were discontinued due to an out-of-court settlement.

Belafonte had always denied the allegations.

A new expanded edition of Brown's biography "Brutally Honest" is scheduled to appear in March.

Awarded by Prince William

Brown received a royal honor in 2022 for her work against domestic violence.

Queen's grandson Prince William presented her with the "Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" (MBE) at Buckingham Palace.

This is one of the lower ranks in the British Orders of Merit system.

The German discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have long been a fixture in Great Britain and together have a market share of almost 17 percent.

Given the dizzyingly high rate of food inflation in recent years, many Brits are turning to discounters.

svs/dpa