Scary Spice may have been every millennial’s ideal crazy best friend, but modern-day Melanie B has slipped effortlessly into a career-focused and kid-friendly role as simply “mum.” With her little family at her side, the single mom has spent decades working on her career and boldly taking her place in the spotlight. She’s never shied away from media attention, but she also tends to avoid advertising her business- at least until the dust settles.

Though she’s been under scrutiny following her 2017 split from Stephen Belafonte, there’s more to Mel than her glam appearances on America’s Got Talent or the snapshots of her bikini-clad bod on the beach. She’s raised three gorgeous daughters, grown as a person and businesswoman, and kept up a fan base the whole time.

It’s been a long time since platform sneakers and leather pants, but Scary Spice proves that becoming a mom doesn’t mean you’re boring and bland by default. There’s plenty about Mel that’s typical “mom,” of course, but there’s also a lot that’s somewhat surprising given her background as a 90’s pop sensation and British icon. Here are fifteen facts the media has uncovered about how Mel B parents and the choices she makes for herself and her family.

15 Talking About Traditional Mothering

Fans of the Spice Girls remember Mel B as being one of the craziest members of the all-girl-power group. But now that she’s an adult with three children, Melanie Brown has calmed down quite a bit. The Huffington Post quoted an interview from Oprah where Mel B explained that she’s rather traditional when it comes to mothering.

She aims to give her kids “a lot of confidence and a lot of love,” she said, and she focuses on structure and stability despite her world-touring career.

She always tells her girls that she loves them and credits that consistency with how well they’re turning out.

While the girls have plenty of fun times as the kids of a celebrity parent, Mel maintains that she’s also strict in her parenting. She wants the kids to keep to a routine as much as possible, especially during the week and when it comes to school and homework.

Although just like any other mom, she likes to try and relax on the weekend- only her variety of relaxation comes with getting to “hang out with Justin Bieber.” Not many toddlers to teen girls get to say that about their mom, but obviously mama Mel is doing things right since her girls currently seem to be on the straight and narrow.

14 Three Baby Daddies, Three Daughters

If you’re a fan of Mel already, you probably know that she has three daughters with three different men. But the young mom is anything but apologetic about her love life and what got her to this point in motherhood. Her daughters’ births came over a span of thirteen years, so it’s safe to say that it wasn’t promiscuity that got her pregnant three times. Daughter Phoenix Chi’s dad is Jimmy Gulzar, and the pair were married for two years from 1998 to 2000.

Phoenix was born in 1999, and the following year Mel started dating actor Max Beesley. After that relationship ended, Mel dated film producer Christine Crokos for four years. The two lived together with Mel’s daughter until 2006, the same year that Mel conceived daughter Angel with actor Eddie Murphy. Despite his public denial of paternity, Mel told People that all her daughters were “made with love,” and that she would never talk negatively of any of the three men.

However, Mel and Eddie didn’t last long in a relationship, and in 2007 she started dating film producer Stephen Belafonte. Belafonte also has an older daughter, Giselle, from another relationship. The pair were secretly married that same year, and their daughter Madison was born in 2011. Unfortunately, they separated in 2016 and were divorced by the end of 2017.

But ultimately, Mel places a high level of importance on keeping the peace with her children’s fathers and keeping them in their daughters’ lives.

13 The Drama Just To Get A Divorce

As much as she tries to play peacemaker with all her daughters’ fathers, the publicity surrounding Mel B’s split from ex Stephen Belafonte is making that difficult. Because Mel is court-ordered to pay her ex-spousal support, the two are apparently still embroiled in legal matters despite the fact that their divorce has already been finalized.

Part of the issue is that Mel was late on payments, Perez Hilton reported, but she’s apparently also blocking Belafonte from accessing their family home.

Mel publicly defended herself by stating that she was short on cash one month, but that she made up that payment and paid the next one early. She also explained that Belafonte showed up unannounced at the former family home, which is just plain rude.

But the bigger issue is that Mel heard that Stephen was letting their elementary-age daughter sleep in his bed with him. Mel was reportedly mad about the issue after Madison came back from an overnight visit. However, she hasn’t publicly made any accusations about inappropriate behavior, so maybe she’s just irritated that Madison is maintaining a close relationship with her dad. Mel did say that’s important to her, right? Still, despite the “peaceful” agreement that’s in place, the now separated couple hasn’t had much peace lately.

12 DNA Doesn’t Make A Dad

As much as she toots her own horn for keeping her daughters connected to their dads, Mel doesn’t seem to be pushing the issue when it comes to fatherly commitments. It’s not surprising, either, after Eddie Murphy publicly dragged the superstar mama, claiming that there was no way Angel was his and that he’d need a paternity test to believe it. After the paternity results went public, Eddie settled with a $7 million paternity suit.

Now, Mel B says that Eddie has a relationship with Angel and that she is “very respectful” of Eddie as her daughter’s father. However, Page Six also noted that Mel told interviewers that Angel sees Mel’s now-ex Stephen Belafonte as her dad because, she explains, “he’s been there since the beginning.”

Still, Mel said that she and her daughter go for dinner with Eddie Murphy and that “everything is fine… now” and that “he’s a great guy.” That said, Stephen was stepping up to daddy duty when the duo paired up. At the time, Mel was still pregnant with Angel. The little girl was born two months before Mel and Stephen tied the knot, and apparently, he took over the role of dad while the couple started their married life together.

11 Is She Prioritizing Parenthood?

Their start as a co-parenting duo was rocky, but Mel B maintains that daughter Angel’s biological father, Eddie Murphy, has a right to be part of his daughter’s life. But at the same time, her marriage to now-ex Stephen Belafonte meant Angel had a built-in dad from day one. And according to sources, he’s not willing to give up that fight, even though the pair are now divorced.

Sunshine Coast Daily reported that while they were married, Stephen kept Mel and Angel from communicating with Eddie Murphy, barring contact between the girl he saw as his daughter. Once he and Mel split, he went a step further and sought step-parent visitation with Angel, noting that he had “been the parent that had raised this minor child since an infant.”

Court records detail all of this, and while the messages that Stephen allegedly sent to Eddie were not revealed, Mel claims that Eddie canceled the visitation she had arranged and decided not to interact with Stephen at all. Unfortunately, Stephen’s “childish action only sought to delay Angel’s unification with her biological father.”

The thing is, it’s hard not to side with mom on this one. After all, she’s already settled a paternity lawsuit with Eddie over daughter Angel- meaning there’s likely nothing left for her to gain from a successful co-parenting relationship than what the dad-daughter duo deserves- a functional father-child relationship.

10 She's Nixing Negative Impacts

Although Mel is big on letting her girls have relationships with their dads, she’s also not willing to sacrifice their safety or mental wellbeing for those relationships. Sunshine Coast Daily reported that Mel filed court documents attempting to block ex Stephen Belafonte’s visitation with her daughters. The reason? He allegedly made eldest daughter Phoenix, as well as the little girls, watch “men being beheaded… by ISIS” on video while visiting with him.

Phoenix also corroborated her mom’s allegations that Stephen was abusive to the whole family. She said that she “never bonded with Stephen” because he called her names such as “retarded and stupid.”

He was also aggressive with the younger girls, Phoenix continued, explaining that if the girls “broke the ‘rules’,” Stephen would yell in their faces.

While Stephen denies allegations of wrongdoing, it’s hard to discount the girls’ stories of his actions toward them. Most moms rely on instinct in situations like this, and odds are, Mel knows something we don’t about the way Stephen interacts with his kids (and his ex-wife’s). Still, Mel is taking the right route by filing paperwork in court and aiming to prevent potentially negative influences in her girls’ lives, even if that means missing out on time with their dad- who may need some help himself.

9 Potentially "Poor" Parenting

Knowing about the allegations that Mel filed against Stephen Belafonte regarding his attempts to block little Angel from getting to know her bio dad, it’s not a huge surprise that Mel’s oldest daughter’s dad feels rebuffed. After news of Mel’s tumultuous split with Belafonte hid headlines, Phoenix’s dad, Jimmy Gulzar, gave TMZ an interview in which he claimed Mel has been keeping his daughter from him.

Jimmy goes on to blame Mel for putting Phoenix in a dangerous situation- asking why Mel continued to allow Phoenix (and her other daughters) in a home that wasn’t safe. He said that Mel could have brought Phoenix to him any time for help, and that he hasn’t been able to see his daughter as much as he’d like.

Jimmy also revealed that Stephen has had a gun in the home for years, one that he’s apparently not legally allowed to have. But, he says, Mel never did anything about it, proving once more that the whole situation involved “poor parenting.”

Whether or not she writes him off as an “angry ex,” it sounds like Jimmy has a few good points about his daughter’s safety and the fact that he hasn’t had the ability to maintain a healthy relationship with her. Is Mel to blame, or is this more of Stephen’s controlling personality coming out?

8 Motherhood Means Balance

All moms need a break sometimes, and according to Mel, she’s no exception. The busy mom told Madame Noire that while she’s super-busy, she makes it a point to balance life out. Evidence of her struggle is the fact that she hasn’t put out any solo music in years, although the intent is there.

But Mel says life is “all about balance week in and week out,” and admits that you can’t always get it just right.

Whether it’s too much time at work or too much time at home, either one can stress you out and throw things out of whack. But part of Mel’s routine is the maintenance of her fit bod, which she says she achieves through a mixture of exercise. She enjoys “a bit of running, hiking, swimming in the pool” and taking classes to “mix it up.”

She’s done boot camp classes, Soul Cycle, and more- but count this mom out when it comes to yoga. She says she’s “not really a yoga person,” and by the looks of it, she doesn’t need to be. After three kids, Scary Spice still looks as fit as she did in her Spice Girls days. No word on where the kids are while mom’s working out, but that’s part of the balance too- getting in “me time,” whether you’re a regular mom or a celebrity one.

7 She's Staying Close To Her Kids

Back in her Spice Girl days, Mel B was no stranger to crazy world tour schedules, little sleep, and tons of international flights. But since she’s still in the celeb spotlight, her business traveling hasn’t completely gone away. However, her most recent career decisions involved staying close to home, she told Madame Noire.

While she explained that she “kind of fell into” America’s Got Talent with co-hosts Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, and Howie Mandel, Mel and her daughters have always been fans of the show. She said that the gaggle of girls used to watch the show as a family, so when the opportunity came up, it was a no-brainer.

“I’m really into singing and music,” she told Madame Noire, “So yeah, I was like, why not?” Plus, now that the show is in Los Angeles, Mel continued, she’s closer to home for her kids.

They all attend school in LA so Mel makes sure she’s there for things like parent-teacher conferences, graduations, and all the other parenting gigs that come along with the school years.

That said, Mel doesn’t claim to be an expert when it comes to parenting or hitting all the high notes with the kids. Keep reading for details on other ways she’s just like the rest of us “average” moms.

6 Her Nanny Troubles

As her marriage to Stephen Belafonte began to crumble, Mel B filed not just divorce paperwork in court, but also allegations about her ex’s alleged affair with their nanny.

Lorraine Gilles, who was the couple’s nanny during their marriage, is suing Mel for defamation of character. But that didn’t stop Mel from claiming that Lorraine was pregnant with Stephen’s child,

the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

Said young and blond nanny has been photographed with both Mel and Stephen while on family vacations and out and about together. Oddly enough, many times the trio were photographed sans-kids, which may help corroborate Mel’s stories about intimate activity between her husband and the nanny- along with threesomes and who knows what else with all of them.

However, there are also photographs of Lorraine holding baby Madison and performing other duties more befitting of hired help. That alone can help tone down criticism of the celeb mom, being that every mom gets overwhelmed sometimes. Juggling a career, three children, and a husband (not to mention exes, of which the husband is now one) isn’t easy and asking for help is the best way to take some of the stress off. We just wish Mel would pick more trustworthy nannies- it seems she hasn’t had good luck so far.

5 Living Beyond Her Money Means

You might think that Mel sounds relatively down-to-earth, especially given her star-studded past as a Spice Girl. But when she and Stephen Belafonte pursued their divorce, a judge basically laughed at them for spending way too much money on not only necessities but also entertainment and food. New Idea reported that the LA judge slammed the couple for “living beyond their means,” noting that court documents state the couple spends over $9,000 per month on groceries and eating out.

On top of that, they reportedly claimed to spend $1,300 on entertainment every month. The judge chastised the couple for not establishing a budget and sticking with it, essentially laughing at Stephen’s request for an exorbitant amount of spousal support.

Stephen reportedly asked for $2,300 per month for “groceries and household supplies” plus at least $750 on his mobile phone, $2,000 in clothing, and $3,000 on entertainment and vacations.

While the judge recommended that the duo has kept their monthly spending under $51k- a huge amount to most average families- he did award Stephen a monthly spousal support amount of $40,000. Maybe they both overexaggerated in the hopes that they could one-up the other as far as keeping more of the marital wealth? Either way, maybe it’s time for a budget now, mama Mel- that spousal support is going to add up.

4 Life As A Solo Mom Just Stinks

Despite her time in the spotlight, Mel B is real enough to admit that not only is parenting hard, but single parenting is far more challenging. Daily Mail reported that at the end of her 10-year marriage, Mel was reflecting on how difficult being a single mother is and how it’s affected her and her daughters. Not only is Mel working it as a single mom, she’s also effectively become both mom and dad on the daily to her three girls.

She says that while she’s a “very loving mum,” being a single parent can be hard work. Between her career, her spousal payments, and her kids’ activities, Mel B does plenty of running around. Plus, eldest daughter Phoenix has a hankering for the spotlight, meaning mom may have her work cut out for her when it comes to launching her girl’s career. Thankfully, for now, Phoenix is focusing on college, but Mel still has two young daughters left under her wing for the time being.

But still, Mel is a young 43 at this point, so it doesn’t mean she’ll be a single mama forever. Besides, the older her girls get, the more likely it is that she can find some downtime for herself and possibly even her love life.

3 The Bonds Her Daughter Makes

Proud mama Mel posted to Instagram when her eldest daughter was prepping for prom with her super suave date. The 19-year-old posed for pics with her senior prom date, Victor, who is apparently the teen’s boyfriend.

While it could be seen as just another mom bragging on her gorgeous daughter’s prom look- especially since Phoenix apparently raided mom’s closet for a dress befitting the occasion- fans realized that the car in the background of the snapshot is actually a $2 million Bugatti Veyron.

From that tidbit, fans deduced that Phoenix’s prom partner is the heir to a billion-dollar fortune, thanks to his parents’ development of a software company.

But Mel took it all in stride. Rather than focusing on the glammed-up occasion, she reflected on her road to motherhood and her relationship with her teen. She captioned the Instagram image, “My darling daughter, I have no words that can even describe how proud I am of you and the woman you have become, it’s not been an easy ride I no my love. Your 19 years old and you still want to cuddle your mummy though haha, thank you for being you and teaching me too my love.”

Here’s hoping Phoenix tackles life in the public eye with as much poise as her mum has taught her to, despite the drama that seems to constantly surround them.

2 Are They Thinking About Therapy?

After their tumultuous breakup, Stephen and Mel have been at odds. Not only over cash flow and other essential post-divorce topics, but also over their parenting of youngest daughter Madison (Belafonte’s only biological child with his ex-wife). Amid allegations that Stephen is abusive toward his daughter, and Mel’s other girls, and that he has a gun in his possession, Mel aimed to get their girl into therapy. But although she says she reached out in late 2017, TMZ notes that Stephen didn’t file documents until months later. In the meantime, he concocted allegations against Mel that claim she’s been brainwashing their daughter.

Not so, Mel maintains- it’s “nonsense” and there’s no evidence to support his claims. And although Stephen is apparently angling for an updated custody agreement, Mel noted that there is already a custody plan in place and that the family should stick to it since nothing has changed.

And after all of this, it’s unclear whether Madison or the other girls received therapy for the drama and potential harm they’ve suffered.

However, Mel says that it’s been her prerogative all along to get Madison into therapy to help her deal with her parents’ divorce and other extenuating circumstances surrounding it.

1 No Topic Is Taboo

She’s already up-front with her oldest daughter about the ups and downs of a career in the spotlight, but Mel shares much more than that with her girls- and the public. While it’s no secret that Mel isn’t exactly “straight”- given that her Wikipedia page notes a four-year live-in relationship with a woman- she’s open about her past in a way that most celebrities are not. Daily Mail highlighted the fact that Mel gave an interview about a past lover, the woman who came before ex Stephen.

On the subject of her past paramour, Mel said, “I was dating a girl for five years and, if you fall in love, you fall in love, I did.” This openness extends to what her daughters know about their mom’s partnerships- after all, daughter Phoenix lived with her mom and mom’s girlfriend back in the day. But Mel maintains, saying, “I was born very honest… Whatever I feel, whatever I think, as long as I’m not hurting anyone else, I’m just going to carry on and have fun.”

Although it would logically follow that Mel is receptive to hearing her own daughters’ feelings on the subject of intimacy, she’s setting a good example about loving yourself and not being apologetic for who you are or what you feel.

References: Huffington Post, People, Perez Hilton, Page Six, Madame Noir, Sunshine Coast Daily, New Idea, TMZ, Daily Mail, MTO News, TMZ