American television and movie producer Stephen Belafonte is most known for being the ex-husband of “Spice girl” producer, singer, and actor Mel B. Two of the documentaries from the ‘Straight from the Projects: Rappers That Live the Lyrics’ series are among the many documentaries he has made in his early career. He has produced TV series like “I Pity the Fool,” “Singing Office,” and “Mel B: It’s a Scary World,” as well as movies like “Thank You for Smoking,” “Mutant Chronicles,” and “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.” He was a guest judge on ‘The X Factor’ and made numerous appearances as himself on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.
Ascent to Fame
Stephen Belafonte founded his film production firm, Remag, after graduating. He produced and filmed a couple of documentaries about rappers in the early 2000s. He later produced several TV series, movies, and documentaries. But after he married Mel B in 2007, he became well-known in the media. He once more made headlines after their contentious divorce in 2017 and her candid book ‘Brutally Honest’ in 2018.
Personal Life & Family
On May 18, 1975, Thomas and Sheryl Stansbury welcomed Stephen Belafonte into the world as Stephen Stansbury in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. His mother relocated him and his six siblings to Point Pleasant, New Jersey when he was just twelve years old. He returned to California after turning eighteen and adopted the Belafonte surname, which his wife, Mel B, subsequently said was an attempt to pass himself off as the son of Calypso King Harry Belafonte. His graduation from Loyola Marymount University was accomplished.
Nancy Carmell was Stephen Belafonte’s first wife, whom he married in Los Angeles in 1997. But two months later, his wife ran away to Honolulu, her homeland, and filed for the annulment of their marriage. In 2004, his next girlfriend, Nicole Contreras, a model, gave birth to their daughter, Giselle Belafonte. But he was charged with assault for assaulting her after a drunken fight at their house the year before. He then claimed that he was “confused and stressed” and was unaware that he had unintentionally agreed to beat his companion, but the court rejected his plea even though he did not dispute the charges.
During the production of the movie “Talk,” Belafonte met Mel B, also known as Melanie Brown, and the two started dating in February 2007. On June 6, 2007, they secretly were married in Las Vegas, and on November 8, 2008, they reaffirmed their vows in front of their family in Hurghada, Egypt. On September 1st, 2011, the couple had a daughter, Madison Brown Belafonte. Mel B’s divorce filing in March 2017 with the excuse of “emotional and physical abuse” led to their eventual separation in December 2016. The final date of the divorce was December 15, 2017.
Disputes and Scandals of Stephen Belafonte
Stephen Belafonte was accused of burglary and theft in New Jersey back in 1994. Initially charged with attacking two men in 2000, the charges were eventually dropped in court and he was forced to pay for their damaged automobile. He was penalized by the court in 2007 for using a brick to kill a duck outside his home, but he fled to Los Angeles instead of paying the fine. On a night out with Mel B at the May Fair Hotel in 2010, he got into a fight with three men, seriously injuring one of them.
Fans started noticing bruises and scrapes on her during her 2014 TV appearances, long before he and Brown went through a tumultuous divorce that even resulted in her receiving a restraining order against him. She rekindled the allegations later in 2018 when she published the book “Brutally Honest,” which included information about their poisonous relationship and messy divorce. She also alleged that he had filmed their interactions and forced her to have a threesome with their nanny Lorraine Gilles. He called her a “narcissistic liar” in an interview with “The Daily Mail,” exposing that she had filmed some of the sessions in addition to the fact that they were consenting. He went on to say that she struggled with drug and alcohol misuse, had an insatiable sexual appetite, and lied to maintain her reputation. It’s interesting to note that Gilles acknowledged being in a relationship with Mel B, who has a lengthy history of infidelity, including a few committed relationships with women. He denied her allegations that he intended to make the videos public, saying that, in contrast to her, he was concerned about their children’s future and had no intention of making their personal life public. He recently asserted that he had regained 85% of their daughter’s custody.
Net worth of Stephen Belafonte
The estimated net worth of Stephen Belafonte is about $3 million.