Mel B wants to move back to England because she can’t find work in the US.
The former ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge has filed court documents asking to change the custody agreement she and ex-husband Stephen Belafonte have for their eight-year-old daughter Madison as her US visa will expire next year.
In court documents obtained by The Blast, she wrote: "As the court is well aware, my marriage to Stephen was unhealthy. I was subjected to years of verbal and sexual abuse by Stephen, which included his active isolation of my daughters and me (including Madison) from my home and family in the United Kingdom.
"My United States Visa expires in February 2020. I will not be permitted to work or live in the United States after that point. During my marriage to Stephen, we lived in Los Angeles, where I worked. However, all of my sources of income in the United States have been ll exhausted.
"My contract on the show, ‘America’s Got Talent’ ended in September of 2018 after several years of my participation. I have not had steady income in the US for over a year."
Stephen currently gets overnight custody of Madison every Wednesday and every other weekend and Mel has promised to still provide him with "reasonable visitation" if she’s given permission to move back to her native Leeds, pointing out the youngster travelled between Los Angeles and the UK during the Spice Girls comeback, and that her ex-husband regularly travels too.
She stressed she is not trying to keep Madison away from her dad but feels "concerned" the producer will make that claim and is worried if he keeps their daughter full time in the US he won’t foster a positive relationship and the little girl could turn on her.
Mel – who also has daughters Phoenix, 20, and Angel, 12, from previous relationships – is concerned she wouldn’t be able to "maintain the standard of living" Madison is accustomed to if she is forced to stay in America,
She continued: "If I were forced to stay in the United States, I would be unable to maintain the standard of living to which Madison is accustomed. The rent for my two-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is in excess of 88,000.
"On top of rent, I have to pay for monthly living expenses, bills, and attorney’s fees and costs. With my contract with ‘America’s Got Talent’ ending over a year ago, and my Visa expiring very quickly, it is impossible for me to continue living in the United States."
The 44-year-old star’s income is all generated from the UK, such as her recent Spice Girls comeback tour and hopes to use the "momentum" from the shows to find more work, having just been named a panelist on comedy quiz show ‘Celebrity Juice’.
The judge has not yet ruled on the request.
Mel B wants to return to UK
