Mel B and Stephen Belafonte have been criticised for "living beyond their means" by a judge after giving his verdict on their spousal support battle.
The Spice Girls star, full name Melanie Brown, was ordered to pay $40,000 (£30,500) a month in emergency spousal support to her estranged husband Stephen by a judge on Friday (14Jul17).
The order, which was filed at Los Angeles Superior Court, has now been obtained by DailyMail.co.uk and shows the judge criticising the former couple for living a "high upper class life" in the top one per cent even though their finances didn't allow for it, noting that the amount they have claimed for under monthly expenses exceeds their income.
"Given that the parties have lived beyond their means, that the parties' claimed expenses are not entirely credible or reasonable, the amounts of income and expenses are unclear on this record..." the judge wrote before deciding to give Stephen $40,000.
"That should be enough to meet his reasonable needs and not vary far from his premarital standard of living, at least until the financial picture clarifies," he concludes.
In the order, the judge also lists some of Mel's expense claims and questions their legitimacy.
"Brown's claims $200,000/month in 'child care' with no further explanation," the order continues. "And likewise over $5,000/month in groceries and household supplies for a family of four (excluding Belafonte) on top of $4,493 a month for 'eating out' and $1,313/month for 'movies, shows, theme parks, etc.' The Court does not find these expenses credible or reasonable, at least based on the evidence now before the Court."
The order lists Stephen's expenses for phone and email bills, groceries, household supplies, entertainment, gifts, vacation in a similar way and comes to the same conclusion that his expenses are not reasonable or credible.
After the news broke, Mel's mum Andrea Brown tweeted that she was "disgusted" with the verdict.
