Earlier this year, Mel B’s court battle with her ex reached new lows when Stephen Belafonte claimed that Mel B is a drunk who clumsily injured herself while intoxicated.
He made the claim to “explain” how her bruises didn’t come from his abuse, but it sounds like the court is taking the allegations about substance abuse seriously.
In fact, the court determined that Mel B is a “habitual, frequent” drug user.
Us Weekly got their hands on some court documents that show that, as far as the legal system is concerned, Mel B is a habitual drug user.
Judge Mark Juhas is the one who reached this conclusion about the former Spice Girl.
“Based on the evidence presented,” his words read. “The court finds that there is a habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances/alcohol by the petitioner.”
Mel B is the petitioner. Judge Juhas made the ruling following a hearing over the former couple’s custody battle for 7-year-old Madison.
According to the documents, this order is from Tuesday, September 4.
The court’s ruling will have consequences.
Mel B is required to undergo drug testing over the course of the next four months.
We don’t know exactly how regular the testing will be — and there is a chance that Mel may not, either. Our guess is that the testing will be at deliberately random intervals.
Mel and Stephen are required to each pay fifty percent of the cost of the testing.
The good news for Mel is that this testing can happen at her home, through a federally approved facility. So she won’t have to go to, say, a police station.
The court also mandated some new rules for the couple concerning their 7-year-old daughter, Madison.
Neither of them are permitted to be under the influence of any drugs or alcohol while in Madison’s presence.
That means no drinking during their respective custody periods and no drinking 8 hours before they see her.
The two exes are also ordered to hire a new nanny for their daughter.
As you may recall, Mel B’s last nanny also became the lover of both her and Stephen.
It doesn’t sound like the judge addressed this directly, but we get the impression that neither Mel B nor Belafonte are encouraged to bang this particular nanny.
In a court filing on Friday, August 31, Mel B denied that she abuses drugs or alcohol.
(Keep in mind, of course, that the line between using and abusing substances can appear blurry … especially if you have been drinking)
Later that day, she and Stephen reached a settlement.
However, the details of that settlement have so far remained undisclosed to the public.
Whatever it was, of course, the court must still prioritize the best interests of Madison, even if it means making life a little difficult for Madison’s parents for a few months.
Mel B recently revealed that she is undergoing treatments for PTSD.
Though she also mentions the death of her father, a major source of trauma for her was the alleged physical abuse at the hands of Stephen Belafonte during their 10 years of marriage.
In addition to the alleged violence, which she initially denied even after friends and fans noticed bruising on her body, Stephen is also accused of having siphoned a tremendous amount of her money from her.
We hope that this can all get sorted out for the sake of Madison, Mel B, and Mel’s other children, Phoenix and Angel. (Phoenix is 19 but she’s still his mom, you know?)
Mel may be self-medicating for her PTSD using drugs and alcohol. Trauma is a tremendously common predictor for substance abuse.
One way or the other, four months of drug testing should tell us a lot.
