Who is Nicole Contreras? Ex of Stephen Belafonte, Mel B’s soon to be ex-husband who he was convicted of domestic battery against
HE'LL soon become ex-Mr Scary Spice after his second wife Mel B filed for divorce.
When Mel B married Stephen Belafonte she admitted she knew “he was no angel” and that he'd run-ins with the law with several convictions - including one for attacking an ex-girlfriend. Here the lowdown...
But who is the ex-girlfriend? Here's what we know...
Who is Nicole Contreras?
is a successful high-end real estate professional in Los Angeles.
She has appeared on a property show, Selling LA showing how she works with her clients selling homes all over Southern California.
Nicole was previously an actress and according to IMDB starred in two films, Candyman: Day of the Dead in 1999 and Pensacola: Wings of Gold in 1997.
She counts celebrities among her friends and clients, including Kelly Dodd star of Real Housewives of Orange County.
Nicole lives with her daughter Giselle,12, whose father is Stephen Belafonte in Brentwood.
When was Nicole Contreras in a relationship with Stephen Belafonte?
Nicole and Stephen were together for six years and their daughter Giselle was born on June 23 2004.
They broke up two years after Giselle's birth, in 2006 - three years after he was convicted of battering her.
Nicole intimated in a recent Twitter post that she doesn’t receive child support for their shared daughter. She posted a picture of Blac Chyna accusing her ex Tyga of no child support with the caption; “Hmmm sounds familiar….”
Giselle still has contact with her father - frequently appearing on the red carpet with Mel and her step-sisters.
What is the domestic violence charge against Nicole that Stephen was convicted of?
Soon after Stephen and Mel B married, the singer was forced to defend her husband's violent history when his domestic violence conviction came to light.
In 2003 Stephen battered Nicole, who was then his common-law wife at their home during a drunken row.
The attack was described as a “malicious and unlawful” drunken frenzy and he did not contest the charge.
He said that of the incident that left Nicole with visible injuries; “this happened crazily, one drunk, retarded night”.
He was also accused of vandalising Nicole’s phone by spitting into it – a charge that was dropped.
Stephen said later that he did not realise he had admitted battering Nicole and that his admission came at a time when he was “confused and stressed” - this plea was rejected.
He faced up to a year in jail, but avoided imprisonment. being sentenced to a year-long domestic violence counselling course. He was also ordered to stay away from Nicole.
He reportedly missed several classes and was eventually signed off from the programme in 2005.
Have Stephen Belafonte and Mel B reached a settlement in their own divorce?
The Spice Girl, 42, is ending her legal battle with her ex – thrashing out a private deal with his lawyers following a marathon eight-month court fight.
Hours before a two-week trial was due to get underway to decide on the restraining order and accusations, a deal was struck.
Belafonte's lawyer Grace Jamra told LA Judge Mark Juhas: “All the issues before you including the domestic violence restraining order and custody of a minor child have been dissolved.”
Sean Macias, Mel’s lawyer, told the judge: “We all came to an agreement in principle late last night. We are pretty much done in principle.”
The settlement means the domestic violence restraining order placed on Belafonte will be lifted and he has agreed a deal over access to his child with Mel B, six-year-old Madison.
A deal will likely prevent the lurid allegations of drug taking and sex tapes being aired in a trial.
