The former Spice Girl tells SEBASTIAN VAN DER ZWAN why she’s looking forward to bringing up her newborn daughter in Australia.

When Woman’s Day drops by to visit Melanie Brown and her new baby, Madison, at their waterfront apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the forthright X Factor judge has only been in the country a few hours. She’s just stepped off a 14-hour flight from Los Angeles and has had only a few winks of sleep, thanks to her unsettled infant as well as her energetic four-year-old daughter, Angel.

Despite the taxing journey, which came just nine days after giving birth, the 36-year-old former Spice Girl shows no sign of exhaustion. She happily chats away, all the while cradling, swaddling and burping a sleepy Madison, and admiring her view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The daunting task of juggling a newborn and her demanding role on the top-rating TV talent show doesn’t faze Melanie at all.

“I was born to multi-task,” she declares in her trademark frank manner, casting an eye over Woman’s Day exclusive family photos, taken a couple of days earlier at her LA home. Mel’s husband, Stephen Belafonte, is back in California, helping Mel’s eldest daughter Phoenix, 12, and his little girl Giselle, 7, settle in at school. He’ll soon join Mel for three months of family time Down Under, which she is very excited about. It’s clear Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian and Natalie Bassingthwaighte have a surprise in store if they expect motherhood to have mellowed their famously stroppy fellow X Factor judge.

Congratulations on baby Madison and welcome back to Australia. What was it like flying all that way with a newborn?

Thank you. I’m used to travelling with kids but never a baby this small. It was a long and crazy flight! I wasn’t that poor woman with the screaming child, but Madison was squirmy and fussy the whole time, and she slept for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I had to keep breastfeeding her and walking her up and down the aisle.

Read the full interview with Mel B in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale September 26, 2011.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

Jennifer Aniston’s men are at war, with her new love Justin Theroux demanding an apology from her ex.

It should be one the happiest times of her life. After years of heartbreak and loneliness, Jennifer Aniston is in love with handsome new boyfriend Justin Theroux – and word is they’re preparing to start a family. Even if persistent pregnancy rumours sparked by her apparent baby bump prove untrue, close sources confirm the cohabiting couple have been trying for their first child.

However, more than five years after their devastating divorce rocked Hollywood, Brad Pitt has once again shocked the showbiz world by branding his time together with Jen, 42, as “pathetic”. In a hurtful and ill-timed bad-taste interview with US magazine Parade, Brad, 47, continued, “I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn’t living an interesting life… My marriage had something to do with it – trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t.”

Needless to say, the actor’s insensitive comments cut deep. “Jen had a meltdown,” says a long-time friend of the actress, speaking exclusively to Woman’s Day. “She spent some of the best years of her life with Brad, and he totally dismisses it as boring and uninteresting! She couldn’t believe what he was saying.” “She was annoyed,” another pal tells. “She thought it was rude and inappropriate for him to say. Her agent and publicists went ballistic.” To make matters worse, at the same time, Jen’s 75-year-old mother Nancy Dow – with whom she had only recently reconciled after a long rift – was lying in hospital, fighting for her life after a serious stroke.

Too consumed with concern for her mum, the former Friends star opted to take the high road and tried to push the controversy to the back of her mind. But there was one person who was determined Brad would not get away with his hurtful comments – Jen’s new boyfriend. A furious Justin, 40, got in touch with Brad through a mutual acquaintance, an artist and independent filmmaker named Marc, passing on a strongly worded warning that he should apologise to Jen.

Read more plus Jen and Brads war of words over the years in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale September 26, 2011.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

The Queen’s granddaughter hit the roof, the phone and then the airport.

When Zara Phillips first heard her husband of just six weeks had been caught flirting and canoodling with another blonde, the official response was relaxed. The other girl was simply a long-time friend, Zara’s spokesperson insisted. Zara, 30, was laughing off the incident, her pals claimed. But the champion equestrienne’s sombre appearance at a horse trial event in Ireland last week told a rather different story.

Now Woman’s Day can reveal Zara’s real reaction to allegations England rugby captain Mike Tindall, 32, was kissed by a female fan in New Zealand. We’re told the Queen’s favourite grandchild heard about the story from a friend and, shocked, immediately hunted down the news coverage and, later, the CCTV footage. Infuriated, she hit the speed dial on her phone and demanded to know what had been going on between Mike and the blonde. She didn’t give a damn about the 11-hour time difference between Ireland and New Zealand.

Never one to hold back, Zara unleashed her feelings on her hapless husband. Mike explained it was all innocent stuff and that the person he was said to have been “groping” had been at their wedding in July. Whether she believed him or not, Zara wasn’t impressed at Mike’s lack of discretion. And her disappointment only grew following claims of new reports and footage of the rugby star’s “overtly sexual” behaviour. Security video allegedly shows Mike trying to convince the unidentified blonde, reportedly an Englishwoman living in Australia, to leave the bar with him. A witness told MailOnline Mike put his hand down her jeans, kissed her and later attempted to undo her bra.

A shattered Zara turned for support to her close cousin Prince Harry, who tried to reassure her in a heart-to-heart phone call by saying, “Don’t worry. This is just what boys do.” But she couldn’t be consoled and immediately rearranged her schedule to fly out to New Zealand, landing there last Wednesday, two weeks earlier than originally planned. A close source tells Britain’s Daily Mirror, “She needs to sort this mess out with Mike and get back on track.” In the meantime, Mike was warned to “watch out” for any traps that “groupies” might try to lure him into. “He might want to be one of the lads but he can’t be any more,” says an insider. “He’s married to the Queen’s granddaughter, for goodness’ sake.”

Read about how the Queen feels about the pair’s scandal in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale September 26, 2011.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

They thought they had cancer beaten. Now, it’s back – but rather than despair, this remarkable couple is telling their tale of  life, love, family and the everyday beauty in between.

It was a rare night without the kids, and artist and film-maker Sarah Watt and her actor husband William McInnes, finding themselves reunited after weeks working apart, took the opportunity to have a quiet celebration together – in bed. The year was 2009 and, Sarah says, “Life was good.”

Her second movie, the romantic comedy My Year Without Sex, had just been released – while her first, Look Both Ways, also starring William and based on her personal battle with breast cancer, was continuing to garner widespread praise. Sarah, then 50, was looking forward to notching up her five-years-free-of-cancer milestone and reconnecting with her adored husband of 20 years.

“We had a lovely, energetic and happy reunion in which I hurt a rib,” is how she remembers that fateful day in her extraordinarily intimate new book, Worse Things Happen At Sea, co-written with William and released this week. “I will leave you to decide what activity we were enjoying at the time, but will confess there was an excellent bottle of duty-free champagne involved,” she writes.

“I clutched my side as we made jokes about our clumsiness, our weight, our middle-agedness. It hurt to laugh…” It was still hurting weeks later, when, Sarah says, “We tempted fate further and had a five-year-clear, happy-to-be-here party. But, like a poker player who doesn’t take the jackpot home, we had pushed our luck.” Sarah’s painful rib turned out to be secondary bone cancer. With its diagnosis came a terrifying prognosis. She had a life expectancy of 6-18 months without treatment, maybe double that with it.

Read more about the couple’s incredible story in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale September 26, 2011.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

Just eight months after giving birth to her twins, the Crown Princess of Denmark is in sensational shape. Woman’s Day uncovers her secrets.

Lithe and lovely Crown Princess Mary drew gasps of admiration as she stepped out to attend a friend’s wedding earlier this month. The poised princess, 39, has wasted no time in getting back into tip-top shape after giving birth to twins Vincent and Josephine in January. On the eve of her trip to Australia in November – her first official visit here since 2005 – Mary has again proven she is the queen of style. She’s certainly the perfect role model for post-baby fitness.

And, according to Mary’s Aussie family, there really is no secret to her slimline appearance. She’s just doing what comes naturally – leading a healthy, active lifestyle. “Mary doesn’t follow a strict diet at all,” reveals her sister-in-law Leanne Donaldson, who is married to Mary’s brother John. “She is so active she just burns the calories. Mary, like the rest of her family, is totally dedicated to exercise. She’s always walking, jogging, or riding a horse. And now she’s also running after four children – that’s guaranteed to keep anyone in shape!” Arriving at the Copenhagen wedding of family friends Sarah Kalbeitzer and Gregers Heering, Mary caused a sensation. She looked stunning in a purple silk dress that flattered her lean and elegant, 170cm-tall frame.

Her dramatic physical transformation has left the awestruck Danes wondering how a mum of four – who gave birth to twins only eight months ago – has suddenly developed the body of a supermodel. Leading Australian nutritionist Susie Burrell believes Mary is reaping the natural benefits of plenty of exercise and the healthy Scandinavian diet. “There are a lot of factors coming into play,” Susie tells Woman’s Day. “Having young, active kids and following a low-carb, high-protein diet are all linking together to give Crown Princess Mary that sensational, willowy, lean frame.

“The Scandinavian diet is a naturally high-protein eating plan. Mary would be eating a lot of foods high in omega-3 fats, a lot of good, oily fish, grains and nuts. The Scandinavians have far fewer obesity problems. Their diet is very low in processed carbohydrates – low in processed food in general. And Mary, following this diet, combined with her extensive exercise regime, is clearly being rewarded.” Sam Mower, an exercise physiologist and health consultant from Sydney’s Manly Beach Health Club, echoes Susie’s sentiments. “Mary is in peak shape because she has applied herself,” he says. “She has been eating the correct food and she’s obviously done what we call a strength program to enhance her resting metabolic rate. If you are weight training and you eat properly as you grow muscle, the muscle actually burns fat.”

See Princess Mary’s amazing new figure and read more about her health and fitness secrets in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale September 26, 2011.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

Brad Pitt has addressed the comments he made about his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston in an interview with the TODAY show in the US saying that Jen “doesn’t deserve it”.

“She doesn’t deserve it,” he said.

“She’s good people. There should be a statute of limitations on this thing.”

The 47-year-old actor apparently told Parade he spent the ’90s trying to pretend he was something that he wasn’t.

“I think that my marriage [to actress Jennifer Aniston] had something to do with it. Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t,” he told the publication.

“One of the greatest, smartest things I ever did was give my kids Angie as their mom.”

Brad said the comments, which were reported across the world, were taken out of context.

When the interviewer tried to read the comments to him he responded by saying: “Please don’t read it. I don’t read these things, because I don’t want to be encumbered by any of that. I know my intentions and I know what I believe and I know things get misconstrued.”

Watch Brad clear up the comments in the video above.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next

It seems Ryan Reynolds has squashed rumours of a romance with Sandra Bullock after he was spotted on a romantic lunch date with his The Change-Up co-star Oliva Wilde.

The pair shared lunch at Sant Ambroeus in NYC’s West Village on September 16 US Weekly reported. “He recently told her he has a crush on her,” an unnamed friend of Olivia’s told the publication.

Following their lunch the couple was seen going into an apartment building where they stayed for two hours. Afterwards the pair spent time walking through Tribeca where he “briefly put his arm around her,” a witness adds. But reps for both Ryan and Olivia say the two are not dating in wake of new tabloid reports.

Are Ryan Reynolds and Olivia Wilde Hollywood’s hottest new couple?

The pair pose with their co-stars in their new film The Change-Up.

Sandra Bullock also attended the premiere to support her good friend Ryan Reynolds.

Now to Love

Related stories

Previous

Sonia Kruger lists luxury Sydney home for sale

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

The Bachelor’s Jimmy Nicholson and Holly Kingston are expanding the family

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Today’s Sarah Abo is married to her soulmate! But who is he?

Inside Johnny Ruffo and Tahnee Sims’ relationship and the unbreakable bond they forged

Richard Gere is leaving the US and moving to Spain, here’s why

2GB radio host Ray Hadley has announced his retirement after over 40 years

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

“I would give up every gold medal I’ve ever won to have a child”: Ariarne Titmus sheds light on her ovarian tumour surgery

These pictures prove that Home and Away sweethearts Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breeds are the soap’s biggest success story

All the adorable snaps of Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli’s newborn son Lucius

Is this the end of Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little?

Native ad body.

Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

Next