Mel B has revealed that her mum thought her daughter had 'done something wrong' when she received an official letter for her MBE.
The Spice Girl, 46, from Leeds, was made an MBE for her tireless campaigning to stop domestic violence and to help victims of abuse in the Queen's New Year's Honours list.
However Scary Spice Mel, whose full name is Melanie Brown, revealed how her mum Andrea Brown initially thought her daughter was in trouble after receiving the letter from Her Majesty’s Service.
The Wannabe songstress, who has now been recognised for her services to charitable causes and vulnerable women, recalled the moment the official letter arrived at her home.
"My mum called me to say a registered letter from Her Majesty’s Service had arrived," Mel told The Sun.
"She said, ‘Have you done something wrong, you’ve got an official letter from the Government’.
She continued: "I opened it and read it but I just couldn’t take it in. My mum was standing there saying, ‘Is everything all right?’ but I couldn’t speak for ages, then I just burst into tears. I felt so shocked and emotional.”
Mel recently filmed a poignant short film earlier this year that depicted one woman’s escape from her abusive husband through a beautiful yet haunting dance for Women’s Aid which was was choreographed by The Greatest Showman’s Ashley Wallen.
The TV personality has also used her position within politics as she delivered a report on domestic abuse to the government at 10 Downing Street in 2019.
Mel has also come forward and spoken bravely about her own experiences with domestic abuse, claiming her ex-husband and film producer Stephen Belafonte physically and mentally abused her.
The star split from Belafonte in 2017 after nearly a decade and then applied for restraining orders against him and their former nanny Lorraine Gilles, also filing for divorce from her ex-husband.
The star claimed Belafonte subjected her to years of mental torment and physical abuse, and Gilles had conspired with him to threaten to release explicit videos of her.
A domestic violence trial was set to go ahead but it was halted in November that year after the singer settled with her estranged ex-husband and their former nanny.
Judge Mark Juhas told the court at the time that the case was resolved and the temporary restraining orders had been dissolved.
The former couple, who share 10 year old daughter Madison, reached a settlement for their divorce in court in 2018.
Mel then released her autobiography Brutally Honest later that year, in which she made further claims against Belafonte about the mental and physical abuse she suffered by him.
The producer has repeatedly denied all of Mel’s allegations.
Gilles also denied all claims made against her, and filed a defamation lawsuit against Mel in April 2019 after she called her former nanny a "prostitute" and "homewrecker" two years earlier. The former Spice Girl paid out $1.8million to settle with Gilles.
Mel, who has also joined the likes of Good Morning Britain star Kate Garraway and Diversity dancer Ashley Banjo in the prestigious list, received the award because of her “passionate” campaigning for the cause, according to a source at The Sun.
Along with a string of new MBEs, Absolutely Fabulous actress Joanna Lumley, British star Vanessa Redgrave and EastEnders icon June Brown will all be given Damehoods via the Order of the British Empire.
If you or someone you know has been affected by issues raised in this article you can contact Women's Aid or call The Freephone 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
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