AceShowbiz - Mel B is one step closer to walking down the aisle with her boyfriend Rory McPhee. The Spice Girls star is allegedly "overwhelmed" after the hairdresser proposed earlier this week and credits him for restoring her faith in men following her ten-year marriage to Stephen Belafonte - whom she has accused of domestic abuse.

"Mel is so happy and this is such a big deal for her because she has been through such a lot. It has taken a huge amount for a man to get her to trust him and to believe in love again," a source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper.

"Rory is from her home town Leeds, he's known her for years. He's the absolute opposite of so many of the guys she had relationships with. He is a really normal, down-to-earth guy, with good morals who has worked incredibly hard to build his own business and a family business. He's not flash, or interested in the limelight."

The insider added, "He comes from a loving family and his best pal is Mel's cousin, Christian Cooke. He has really taken the time to understand what she's been through. He is madly in love with her. It's incredibly hard to trust a man after years of abuse but he has shown her that men can be caring, trustworthy and reliable."

Rory, who has been dating Scary Spice since 2018, proposed at the luxury Cliveden House hotel in Berkshire on Wednesday, October 19 and presented Mel with a £100,000 pear-shaped, champagne-coloured diamond ring.

Friends say that the 47-year-old star "burst into tears" when Rory popped the question. One said, "She said 'yes' straight away. But it was incredibly emotional because after everything she has been through, it was a really big moment for her."

Mel's eldest daughter Phoenix was the first person to be told the news and the rest of Mel's family and her Spice Girls bandmates - Melanie C, Victoria Beckham, Geri Horner, and Emma Bunton - have been informed. A source said, "All the Spice Girls have met Rory and like him."