Former "Scary Spice" Mel B has walked out on her husband of seven years, Stephen Belafonte, amid fervent Internet rumors of domestic abuse, the Sun Newspaper reports.
Rumors started spreading online on Sunday, Dec. 14, when Mel appeared on the UK's X Factor finale show, having missed the semi-finals the night before due to an unspecified illness. Find out more details about Mel's recent illness.
When the feisty northerner appeared on the show without her wedding ring and sporting what looked like bruises on her face and arms, worried fans began speculating about the "real" cause of her absence. As Us Weekly previously reported, for his part, Belafonte responded to comments made on Twitter, denying allegations and calling them "disgusting" and "untrue".
But according to the Sun, the former Spice Girl has now left the London home she shared with the American director, and sources have confirmed to Us that luggage and boxes were being taken away from the house on Monday, Dec. 15.
One source told Us the duo have always had a "volatile" relationship, while another revealed the X Factor judge was in tears during commercial breaks for the hugely popular finale show.
Mel B's sister Danielle Brown added fuel to the rumors, by tweeting out a series of increasingly desperate messages during her sister's mystery illness, threatening to go to the press with recordings of what she called "abusive" phone calls Belafonte had allegedly made to Mel in the past week, unless she and her mom were able to contact the singer, or at least find out what was wrong with her.
A rep for Mel B could not be reached for comment.
