Mel B gets brutally honest in her tell all new book

But when the chips were down, there was, and still is, one place Spice Girl Mel B would head for - Leeds.

After her split with Eddie Murphy she writes: “It had all got too much. I needed to go back to Leeds...thousands of miles away from chauffeur driven Rolls Royces, giant jacuzzis and a private chefs.”

Born Melanie Brown, she grew up in Kirkstall before seeking success and stardom with arguably the most successful girl band in history.

But beneath the glitz and the glamour the singer and mother of three, 43, admits she was in “complete hell” at the hands of her then husband and manager Stephen Belafonte.

Her book, Brutally Honest, looks back at her early life, the history of her father who was born on an island called Nevis in the Caribbean, how she got in the Spice Girls, met Eddie Murphy and gives a fascinating insight into the world of a pop-star.

But behind the dollar signs, private jets, Christian Dior vintage gowns and the Bentleys there is a story that left Mel B sat cross-legged on the floor of a secret refuge in Leeds speaking to women about how she tried to kill herself to escape it all.

The crux of the book is about domestic abuse, both mental and physical, how she got sucked in, how it broke her and how it was her ties to Leeds that helped her get out, the catalyst being her father dying last year.

“I felt strong, focused and fearless. ‘I’m going back to England, my dad is dying and then we’re getting a divorce’, I told Stephen...I thought about my dad. This was his final wish. I was going to live my life without fear, disrespect and shame.”

She added: “This book is for all women who have ever been controlled, abused, shamed and had their spirit completely snatched away.”

Win a copy

Calling all Mel B fans - the Yorkshire Evening Post has a copy of her new book, Brutally Honest, to give away to one of our readers.

This book is not quite the Spice Girls memoir people may have been expecting.

It tackles a lot of the drama surrounding Leeds-born Melanie Brown’s life that has been widely reported in the media across the world.

For a chance to get your hands on a free copy, email your name, address, phone number and email address to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Mel B book competition’.

The deadline for submissions will be noon on Friday, December 14.

Usual JPIMedia competition rules apply.

For more details visit www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk for the full terms and conditions.