Mel B is opening up about her coparenting relationship with actor Eddie Murphy.
The Spice Girl, 49, reveals exclusively in Us Weekly’s cover story that she and the Beverly Hills Cop actor, 64, have been working together to raise their child, Angel, who celebrated his 18th birthday in April.
“I think being in the kind of [situation] that I was in, it was hard for me to step out and have that relationship [with Eddie] flourish,” the America’s Got Talent host explains, referring to her past challenges with PTSD and coercive control. “I managed to do it bit by bit.”
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Brown and Murphy, who she called the “love of my life” in her 2018 memoir Brutally Honest, began dating in 2006. The pair welcomed Angel in 2007 — four months after they split. The singer, who is engaged to hairstylist Rory McPhee, tells Us that her friendship with Murphy “flourished even more” in recent years after Brown began her healing journey and relocated to Leeds, England, where she purchased a 15-acre farm.
“Angel is coming over [to Murphy’s house]. They spend time together. They go on holiday together. He has [10] kids and he’s a proper father,” Brown says, referring to Murphy’s other children. The New York native shares Eric, 35, with Paulette McNealy, Bria, 35, Myles, 32, Shayne, 30, Zola, 25, and Bella, 23, with Nicole Murphy, Christian, 34, with Tamara Hood and Izzy, 8, and Max, 6, with his wife, Paige Butcher.
Angel appears to be following in her creative parent’s footsteps, pursuing his passions in “art and Japanese culture,” according to Brown. While he may have an interest in the arts, the 18-year-old is not interested in the spotlight. Brown tells Us that Angel prefers to stay “very much to himself.”
“He went to Japan last year with his girlfriend and just embraced the whole Japanese vibe,” the TV personality says. “[Angel] speaks fluent Japanese and he knows exactly what he wants to do and where he wants to go.”
Brown is also mother to daughter Phoenix, 26, whom she shares with ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar. The singer says that her oldest child, who is a DJ, is “very much the life and soul of the party,” but also “very chilled.”
“[Phoenix] takes everything in her stride. She’s not really anything dramatic,” Brown shares.
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As for her youngest child, daughter Madison, 13, Brown says that she is her “mini me” in every way.
“[With Madison], everything’s, ‘Oh, ah, great, yes!’” the Spice Girl says about her daughter’s vibrant personality. “She’s very girly girl. [She loves] hair and nails.”
For more on Brown, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
