Ex-lover of Mel B’s husband Stephen Belafonte reveals his violent, ‘evil’ past — including choke attack that got him convicted of battery and how he hurled her phone at the wall in jealous rage
STEPHEN Belafonte’s ex-girlfriend says she feared he would kill her in a brutal “choke” attack — and admits she should have warned Mel B about his abuse.
Nicole Contreras, 41, broke a 14-year silence over the assault which saw him convicted, saying: “He’s evil.”
Raging Stephen pinned her against a wall and thrust his arm across her neck to choke her.
The former bikini model screamed at the brute to let go then called cops.
Her shocking story mirrors what Mel B claims she endured in her near ten-year marriage with him.
Nicole texted the former Spice Girl this week following her own abuse allegations against Belafonte.
Speaking about the 2003 assault for the first time publicly, Nicole said: “Stephen grabbed me by the arms and pushed me against the wall.
“His hands were digging into my arms and he was really hurting me.
I begged him to stop... I was struggling to breathe. I knew I had to escape
“He was inches from my face and screaming at me. I could feel his hot breath on my cheeks.
"I was frightened and begged him to stop.
“But Stephen wouldn’t — he put his arm across my neck and had me in a choke hold.
"I was struggling to breathe. I knew I had to escape.
“I screamed for him to get off me. Somehow I managed to get away and call 911.”
Mum Nicole says “evil” Belafonte regularly flew into jealous rages in their five-year on-off relationship.
She says he cheated on her with at least 12 women — and may have bedded her behind Mel’s back.
Mel has documented violence at his hands in restraining order court papers filed in Los Angeles.
Nicole said: “He is abusive, controlling and manipulative, as well as a narcissist and a sex addict.
“And when he is angry there is no lid to his fury. He needs help.”
Nicole told The Sun on Sunday she regrets not alerting the singer about Belafonte.
She said: “When Stephen moved on from me to Mel, I selfishly didn’t want to warn her about him.
“I thought I really had an opportunity to move on.
“My biggest fear was not having the strength to get away from him.
When he is angry there is no lid to his fury
“When he started seeing Mel I thought I wouldn’t have him in my life any more. It was a blessing.
“I don’t know if she would have even listened to me at the time.
“She seemed enthralled by Stephen. That was how he got me too.”
Nicole, now a successful estate agent, first met filmmaker Belafonte at a West Hollywood club in 2000.
He was dossing in a guesthouse but charmed her with his brash style and ability to talk his way into Hollywood parties.
Within weeks of dating, Nicole says he started criticising her looks — yet would beat up other men over her.
Nicole said: “He would go through my phone and fly into a rage if he didn’t know what I was doing, or if he thought a man was trying to talk to me.
"By the end of the first month I was thinking it wasn’t right.
“But Stephen is funny. He’s a charmer, life and soul of the party.
“Yet the signs were definitely there. He threw my phone against a wall and crushed it on the counter top.
"If he thought I had any kind of contact with another guy he would go crazy.
“He got into numerous fights with guys — mainly over jealousy.”
Nicole says he would verbally abuse her, telling her “eat a d***” and “die b***h”, and calling her a “w***e”.
She said he even called her “fat” while she was pregnant with their daughter Giselle, now 12.
Nicole said: “Stephen would say I wasn’t attractive enough to be a model.
"He got very aggressive with my friends and with my family and always intimidated people.
“I definitely thought at some point I was going to end up in hospital.
I don't know if Mel would have even listened to me... she seemed enthralled by Stephen
“Several times I felt scared — he would grab, shake and push me.
“I now know that it is not acceptable for anyone to do that.”
Sex-mad Belafonte also urged her to have threesomes with her mates — which she never did.
Nicole added: “He doesn’t know what monogamy is.
“He cheated all the time — at least a dozen times, maybe more.
“He would say he was working all the time and working late.
"I would go to one of our hangouts and he would be there with a girl.”
Every time the pair split up, Belafonte would worm his way back into Nicole’s affections.
She says she did not feel strong enough to leave — echoing Mel B’s testimony in court papers last week.
The 2003 attack left Nicole badly bruised with marks on her arms and neck.
My message to people is if you are in that situation, love yourself and have the strength to get out of it
Cops charged him with battery, and he pleaded no contest.
Belafonte later claimed he did not realise he was admitting battering Nicole saying he was “confused and stressed”. But his plea was rejected.
He got a suspended jail term and was ordered to attend a year-long domestic violence programme and stay away from Nicole.
Yet the couple got back together even after the attack.
They split for good in spring 2005 — but not before they slept together once last time.
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That night he said he had met someone “rich”, which may have been Mel.
Mel’s court papers allege Belafonte cheated on her with their nanny Lorraine Gilles, 26, and paid for a termination when she fell pregnant with his child.Nicole first met Lorraine when dropping off her daughter at Mel’s LA mansion.
She said: “I thought why on earth would Melanie hire this girl?
“This is totally Stephen’s type — a hot blonde. It was crazy. I had suspicions.”
Lorraine has strongly denied any fling with Belafonte.
Nicole now hopes former X Factor judge Mel steers clear of Belafonte for good.
She added: “A lot of things rang true for me when I read what she’d been through.
"I certainly feel bad for her and I think she was not in a good space.
“I can definitely relate as a woman feeling scared and not knowing how to leave someone.”
She added: “My message to people is if you are in that situation take the right steps to get out of it. Love yourself and have the strength to get out of it."
Of her text this week, she said: “I asked Mel if she was OK, and she said she was getting on all right. I had a genuine concern.
“She is Giselle’s stepmum and has been in her life for long time.
“If the allegations are true then I am glad she is getting out of that mess.
“It sounds like she was in the same place as me, probably worse.
“I just know that when I was with him it was a very unhappy time in my life.”
Belafonte has denied assaulting Mel.
He said last night: "It is in the hands of my lawyers. My kids are the only thing that matter to me."
Their legal battle continues.