According to The Sun, the X Factor judge, 39, packed up and left the home the couple have been sharing in London after their furious arguing became too much to bear.
And now pals are urging the former Spice Girl to formally break away from Stephen, reports the newspaper.Mel B's husband has slammed speculation that he was responsible for her scratched and bruised appearance on The X Factor judge on Sunday.
On Monday morning a furious Stephen, 39, hit back, saying: 'I don't usually respond to Twitter msgs but I will respond to comments of hitting my wife which I think are quite disgusting un true!
'Mel was very ill a bunch of doctors helped her get better if fans can't just relax B4 being negative they r not real fans of @OfficialMelB.'
When contacted by MailOnline, a representative for Mel B declined to comment.
The claims come as Mel has been unveiled as the new cover star for Grazia's Christmas issue, to whom she admitted that she was three hours late for the shoot because she'd had an argument with Stephen, 39.
The magazine quotes her as saying: ‘I walked in pi**ed off because I had a big row with my husband about stupid stuff. Sometimes he pi**es me off like no other, but he gets me.’
A well-placed source on The X Factor said that Stephen didn't visit his wife of seven years during the three days she spent in hospital, or attend the X Factor final on Sunday.
The source revealed that Belafonte is not liked by other members of The X Factor team.
‘None of that means that he has ever laid a finger on Mel, but he is not an easy person to be with, that is obvious to see. It was a physical and emotional collapse. There was an emotional element to it, Mel has been under a lot of stress.
‘He didn’t come to the show on Sunday as far as I am aware. He wasn't in her dressing room. I don’t believe he visited her in hospital, either.
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On Sunday, Belafonte was seen outside the Kensington block of flats where he and Mel, 39, have been renting an apartment since October, overseeing the loading of about 20 suitcases into a minivan.
A source told The Sun that the marriage is on 'life support', adding:
'Mel hasn't spoken to Stephen once since her admission to hospital last week and as it stands she doesn't want to see him. He didn't come to the hospital at all.
'Everyone around her is encouraging her to stay strong and to leave him for good this time because they don't believe their relationship is healthy.
'Things have been very rocky over the last few weeks...last week everything escalated and there were a number of big rows before Mel ended up in hospital.'
The Mirror claim that Mel is convalescing at a secret location, with a pal telling them: 'The marriage really is at breaking point and hanging by a thread. Mel is incredibly fragile and in a bad place.
'Who knows whether the marriage will survive? At the moment, it's not looking good at all. But Mel and Stephen are so unpredictable they could just as easily survive this.
Mel's aunt, Diane Cook told the paper, 'I hope she gets away from him. We all believe Stephen has got her under his control,' while uncle Eric Dixon added, 'He is not a very nice bloke.'
In 2007, shortly after their marriage in June that year, it emerged that Belafonte had been charged with battery in America after being arrested for attacking his then girlfriend, Nicole Contreras.
He pleaded ‘no contest’ to the battery charge – which the judge stated was the same as a guilty plea – and was ordered to take part in a ‘Domestic Violence Batterers’ Programme’.
In 2008, around the time Mel and Belafonte had a wedding blessing in Egypt, a friend of Miss Contreras told a newspaper about his violent and possessive character.
Nicole is said to have told her friend: ‘I fear for Melanie because a leopard does not change his spots. He seems utterly charming – but I’m afraid it won’t be long before his mask slips.’
Nicole said that Stephen was over-possessive. ‘I would be away on photo shoots and Stephen would call my hotel room hundreds of times a night demanding: “Who the **** are you with, Nikki?”
‘One time we went out partying in Hollywood and Stephen was convinced a man in the bar was eyeing me up, which was total rubbish. Stephen followed him out of the bar and beat him senseless.’
Miss Contreras’s friend told the newspaper the relationship became on and off and finally ended after Belafonte told Nicole he’d met someone else.
Nicole told the friend: ‘One night he turned to me and said, “Nikki, I’ve met someone who is very famous and very rich and wants to marry me but if you will have me back then I’ll forget it”. He wouldn’t say who she was but said, “She is so rich she could change my life”.’
Of course, these could be the observations of a woman scorned. But Mel B is certainly rich – she is worth an estimated £35million.
The X Factor judge was absent from the judges' table on Saturday's instalment of the show, after being admitted to hospital in agony on Thursday night. However, she returned for the live final on Sunday.
But fans soon took to social media to question the state of her marriage, as they noticed that she wasn't wearing her wedding ring during the broadcast.
As the programme started on Sunday, Mel B referred to her Saturday absence, saying: 'I really missed being here but thanks to all the doctors and nurses who took care of me and got me here tonight.'
Asked by host Dermot O'Leary if she was feeling better, she said: 'Yes – ish.' But viewers insisted the normally forthright star was 'not herself' throughout her appearance on the show.
Twitter was full of speculation over the reason for the mother-of-three's absence and commented that she appeared to have 'a swollen face', a bruise on her cheek and scratches on her upper arms.
Mel was thought to have collapsed with serious stomach pains after suffering from a suspected stomach ulcer.
X Factor producers had been given enough notice to line up a high-profile replacement in the shape of Tulisa Contostavlos for Saturday's show.
On Thursday Mel B suffered stomach pains after leaving her west London home for rehearsals.
A source told The Sun on Sunday: 'Mel seemed OK when she first got into the car but during the journey it gradually became clear something was very wrong.
'She was complaining about stomach pains that seemed to grow worse and worse, until she was in agony. She was crying out.
