The former Spice Girls star plays a woman who is beaten and choked by her partner in the video titled 'Love Should Not Hurt' that mimics her real abusive marriage to her ex Stephen Belafonte.
- May 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - Mel B (Melanie Brown) relives her hellish past marriage in a shocking video to highlight domestic abuse. In the video titled "Love Should Not Hurt" that was released on Friday, May 14 in the U.K., the singer is badly bruised and battered as she plays a victim of domestic violence.
The former Spice Girls member is seen being beaten and strangled by her partner, who is portrayed by actor Sam Mackay, while attempting to leave the house. She tries to cover her bruises with makeup, pretending to be a happy couple in front of others, but one incident leads to another.
After another night full of terror, her man, who appears to be filled with regret as he is sobbing on a couch, leaves the home in his car. That's when Mel B finds a way for her escape, fleeing the place and running as fast as she can across the vast green field while still in her sleeping robe.
The video was created by classical composer Fabio D'Andrea in collaboration with U.K. organization Women's Aid, for which Mel B has become an ambassador. The storyline in the video appears to mimic her real life.
In March 2017, Mel filed for divorce from Stephen Belafonte, accusing him of "emotional and physical abuse," which he strongly denied. Describing their nearly ten years of marriage as a decade-long "reign of terror," she tells The Sun after the video release that she was unable to be touched or hugged for a year following her alleged abuse.
"Because I'm riddled with so many trauma triggers, I couldn't be hugged or touched for a good year," she tells the news outlet. "If someone came too close to me my hairs would stand on end, even in regular, everyday life."
Of making the video look as real as possible, she explains, "Whether it be the spitting or the strangulation, these are things that actually happen. They are all these women's stories. I came out of making that video with bruises because I wanted it to be an honest representation of what we have all gone through." She adds, "There is a bedroom scene where I am attacked, it was really important to make that real."
