AceShowbiz - Melanie Brown a.k.a. Mel B was relieved to learn she is dyslexic after struggling to read for several years.

The former Spice Girls star was diagnosed last year (17), but explains she initially thought her brain was "wired different", and that's why she migrated toward the entertainment industry.

"I sort of hid it but I didn't know what I was hiding; I'd see words written backwards and I'd have to memorise lyrics over and over again, or it would take me five months to read one chapter of a book," she told U.K. chat show Loose Women on Tuesday, July 24. "To get diagnosed with dyslexia made me feel really relieved".

''Now I know why I struggled so much for all these years, especially at school where I was just considered the naughty one, when actually I didn't understand what they were writing on the blackboard," she added. "I felt very dumb, or thick, because everyone else could understand everything except for me. School was very tough for me because I didn't understand very much at all".

The 43 year old has recently finished writing her autobiography, but she will not be recording the audio version of the book because of her dyslexia. She also thinks it will be too difficult to read through the parts detailing painful experiences in her life, including her 10-year marriage to Stephen Belafonte, who she has accused of abusing her.

''The book has been a painful write, so I've decided I'm not going to read the entire book, I'm going to hire somebody that can actually read it better than I can," she said. "I find it very hard to read the book, especially when I get emotional...".

But she refuses to be embarrassed about her dyslexia.

''Now I see it as a gift and a blessing, even now it's emotional to talk about because for such a long time I didn't know what was going on with me, but now I see it as this is why I've been the way I am and this is why I've been part of an amazing girl group and this is why I've been able to cope with the pressure, so I'm very thankful for it," she continued.