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Mel B<\/strong><\/a> couldn\u2019t be more excited to be back at the judges\u2019 table on America\u2019s Got Talen<\/em>t<\/a> after a seven-year absence. \u201cWe\u2019re pulling out all the stops,\u201d she says of the upcoming 20th season. Her return \u2014 alongside Simon Cowell<\/strong>, Howie Mandel<\/strong> and Sof\u00eda Vergara<\/strong> \u2014 is an emotional one: The 49-year-old Spice Girls<\/a> singer (real name: Melanie Brown) was still dealing with the fallout of a messy divorce from ex Stephen Belafonte<\/strong> when she stepped away in 2018, and she\u2019s done a lot of healing since then.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my final year on AGT<\/em>, I was not in a good place,\u201d says the mom of three (she shares Phoenix<\/strong>, 26, with Jimmy Gulzar<\/strong>, Angel<\/strong>, 18, with Eddie Murphy<\/strong> and Madison, 13, with Stephen). \u201cSo, this feels like a triumph for me. There is hope. You can piece your life back together with the support of good people around you.\u201d Here, she talks to Life & Style<\/em>\u2018s Fortune Benatar<\/strong> about her wedding plans with her hairdresser fianc\u00e9 Rory McPhee<\/strong> and the latest on a Spice Girls reunion tour.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve said you were going through a rough time toward the end of your last stint on the show. What has your healing process been like?<\/strong><\/p>\n MB: It has involved a lot of hard work. I had to resolve issues with my family \u2014 as I was isolated from them for so long \u2014 and be totally honest with myself and others. [Back then] AGT<\/em> represented a safe place. I could put on a Mel B mask and enjoy myself.<\/p>\n How are you feeling now?<\/strong><\/p>\n MB: I see this current chapter in my life as a continuation of the work I\u2019ve done. You don\u2019t just recover overnight.<\/p>\n Tell us about your fellow panelists.<\/strong><\/p>\n MB: I love to play pranks with Howie. Sof\u00eda has been a revelation. She\u2019s so gorgeous, but she\u2019s also incredibly warm and really, really funny. Simon and I have known each other since he turned the Spice Girls down when we tried to get him to sign us. I love reminding him of that!<\/p>\n Mel B and Simon Cowell.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n You\u2019re turning 50 on May 29, 2025. Any party plans or goals for the year?<\/strong><\/p>\n MB: My goal for the year is to be happy and to do what I love, and AGT<\/em> is part of that. I\u2019ve made no plans, but I think there may be a little surprise in store for me!<\/p>\n How has Rory changed your view on love?<\/strong><\/p>\n MB: Rory enabled me to trust a man and believe in kindness again. It was a slow romance, because I wasn\u2019t looking for a partner. He\u2019s a family friend \u2014 the best friend of my cousin \u2014 so he\u2019s known me and my family all his life.<\/p>\n Tell us about your wedding.<\/strong><\/p>\n MB: We\u2019re getting married at St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London, where Princess Diana was married. I\u2019m allowed to be married there because I was awarded an MBE [Member of the Order of the British Empire] by the late Queen [Elizabeth II] for my services to survivors of abuse and abused women. We\u2019ve had many meetings with the dean and the bishop and have talked about the spiritual and religious importance of marriage and why we want to be married. I can promise my wedding will be a very happy day.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n