Mel B thinks her daughter Phoenix is an "inspiration".
The 43-year-old pop star has taken to her Instagram account to gush about her 19-year-old daughter, who recently claimed she saw her stepdad Stephen Belafonte attacking Mel during their turbulent marriage.
Mel – who divorced Stephen in 2017 and has Phoenix with her first husband, Jimmy Gulzar – wrote on the photo-sharing website: "When your baby girl is no longer a baby[crying emoji]ahhh my @phoenixg6 my beautiful 19 year old WOMAN oh how you have grown into such a strong independent lady,sooo brave and soooo courageous I’m beyond proud of you my love,I no how important it was in my book "brutally honest"for you to have your OWN chapter and your OWN voice herd,and you did it my love!!your such an inspiration to many others now to speak out,your a true opinionated fighter wow,I’m speechless, Phoenix our life is now as a family is onward and upward yipppeeee (sic)"
Recently, Phoenix accused Stephen of pushing her mother "over the couch" during an argument.
She said: "I was maybe 14 or 15. I was in my bedroom. I could hear them fighting. My mum came downstairs to the kitchen followed by Stephen.
"I looked through the crack halfway up the stairs – where I could just see the kitchen – to check if everything was OK, which it was, then returned to my room.
"I heard more screaming and her shouting, ‘Stop, get off’, and heard little thumps. I went to the stairs again and saw … my mum pushed over the couch. I froze, but then I just went back [to my room]. This was my family life."
Meanwhile, Stephen has denied the allegations of abuse – which are detailed in Mel’s new memoir, ‘Brutally Honest’ – and has accused her of lying in order to preserve her own image.
He said: "What she has said to protect her own image, to play the victim was nasty and horrific. I’m dumbfounded."
Mel B says her daughter is an ‘inspiration’
