Simon Cowell praises Mel B

Simon Cowell has praised Mel B for how she is handling her messy split from Stephen Belafonte.

The 41-year-old star recently filed for divorce from her husband of almost 10 years, amid allegations he assaulted her, got their nanny pregnant and forced Mel to have threesomes, and her ‘America’s Got Talent’ boss Simon Cowell is impressed that Mel can focus on work throughout her personal turmoil.

He told The Sun: "She’s an incredible person.

"If you think about what Mel’s done since leaving the Spice Girls and what she’s gone through, how hard she works and how I saw her try to handle this situation, it was astonishing.

"I think she is a really, really special person, and I really respect the way she’s dealt with everything.

"Yes, she’s under pressure but I think she’s in a good place."

Meanwhile, Mel’s former ‘X Factor’ co-star Sharon Osbourne has opened up about when the star missed a day of filming three years ago and showed up the next day with a black eye.

Speaking on US chat show The Talk, Sharon said: "In the situation that she’s been in for 10 years, it’s not just physical, it’s mental abuse too.

"Three years ago, in the final two days of ‘X Factor’, she didn’t make the first day and she was in the hospital.

"And it was reported in all the papers that said ‘allegedly’ she’s been beaten by her husband. And she came back for the final day and she had a black eye and bruising everywhere, but she made the final.

"This has been brewing and people talking for a very, very long time.

"You know what, she’s a good girl. She’s a great mother. She works her bum off."

Stephen has previously called the allegations of domestic abuse "outrageous" and "unfounded".