Mel B's tears over bitter family feud

As an ugly fight heats up, the singer’s nearest and dearest publicly question her sanity.

Having regained her pre-baby body in record time, landed a highly coveted hosting gig on Seven’s Dancing With The Stars and leapt gleefully into a new lifestyle in Sydney, outwardly, it seems Melanie Brown is living the dream. However, not all in the mum-of-three’s life is quite so rosy. A nasty family feud has kept the former Spice Girl estranged from her mother, father and sister for the past five years.

The latest instalment of the ongoing spat has seen sister Danielle, 30, a former star of British soap Emmerdale, publicly question Mel’s mental health and accuse her husband, Stephen Belafonte, of being controlling. “Enough is enough,” Danielle tweeted last week. “We need a family meeting, you, me, Mum and Dad. No film crew, no cameras and no Stephen! All of us are worried about your mental state. Are the kids safe?”

The message was possibly in response to a previous tweet from Mel, 36, saying, “Family and money don’t mix… Go sell another story. Such a shame money has done this to you.” It included a link to an interview Danielle had given to Britain’s OK! magazine last year, in which she said the whole family had begun worrying about Mel after her marriage to film producer Stephen in 2007.

“Ever since we expressed those concerns, we’ve not heard anything from her,” Danielle claims in the story. “I just hope I will speak to Melanie again, because she’s my only sister. I miss her and my nieces ridiculously. It hurts.” Mel later claimed her Twitter had been hacked, saying, “Someone is messing with me. My sister has never asked me for money. Love her to bits.”