DWTS Alum Shares She ‘Happened to Fall in Love With a Woman’

A former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant recently opened up about her sexuality and how she fell in love with her ex-girlfriend. Spice Girls member Melanie “Mel B” Brown noted she doesn’t like to label her sexuality. Rather, she shared, she has always been “very open” and believes “women are beautiful.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Mel B. Was in Love With a Woman for 5 Years

Brown talked with Attitude about how she fell in love and dated a woman for five years. Although the two are no longer romantically involved, the “Dancing with the Stars” alum noted, “We still talk to this day.”

The Spice Girl did not mention her ex-girlfriend by name. Us Weekly, however, shared that the relationship was between Brown and Christine Crokos.

When asked if she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Brown responded, “I feel like I am.” She explained, “I didn’t start off my sexual journey going, ‘I’m this, I’m that, I’m bisexual.’ I was, and always will be, very open.”

She continued, “I happened to fall in love with a woman and was with her for five years.” Brown shares of her sexuality, “I don’t want to put a label on it, but I’ve always thought women are beautiful.”

The “Dancing with the Stars” alum has talked about that particular relationship before. In November 2014, she told Gay Star News she would not categorize her relationship with her former girlfriend as “experimentation.”

“It wasn’t experimentation. I fell in love with a woman for five years. An experience doesn’t last five years,” Brown noted.

Brown Dated Her Girlfriend After Her 1st Divorce

Brown started dating Crokos, a film director, soon after Brown’s 2000 divorce from Jimmy Gulzar. The “Dancing with the Stars” alum and Crokos dated until 2006.

After the split with Crokos, Brown dated actor and comedian Eddie Murphy. Brown had a daughter, Phoenix, with Gulzar, and another daughter, Angel, with Murphy.

In 2007, Brown married Stephen Belafonte. They had a daughter named Madison in 2011, noted People. Attitude shared that Belafonte and Brown divorced in 2018.

Brown is now engaged to Rory McPhee, a hairstylist. In March she spoke with People and shared, “I was like, ‘I’m never going to get married again. Never, never, never. I’m never having a relationship. I’m fine with myself…And then… never can say never, can you?”

McPhee and Brown had been friends for years before things turned romantic. When she returned to her hometown in 2019, the two reconnected and a romantic relationship grew “organically.”

The couple plans to get married in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral and are waiting for an available date.

In November 2022, shortly after McPhee and Brown got engaged, they opened up to Hello! about their relationship. “For the first time in my life, I’m engaged to a beautiful, honest person who makes me feel protected, nurtured and so loved,” the “Dancing with the Stars” alum shared.

Brown said all of her fellow Spice Girls were thrilled to learn of McPhee and Brown’s engagement. “It’s really special to me that they like Rory so much, because they’ve never liked any of my boyfriends and they’ve been quite clear about that,” she admitted.

When he proposed, Brown recalled, McPhee “told me he loved me, that I was his best friend and that he wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives.”

Stacy Carey has been a freelance writer focusing on reality television and celebrity news for more than a decade. She is a Heavy contributor for The Bachelor, Hallmark and Dancing With the Stars. More about Stacy Carey