Former
Spice Girls member
Mel B is headed to rehab.
In what appeared to be an exclusive statement to British tabloid The Sun, the "America's
Got Talent" judge announced over the weekend that she is entering a rehab center to combat sex and alcohol addictions and to help her manage her PTSD.
Brown, 43, cites her split from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte as a motivating factor for going to rehab, claiming she's spent the past six months working on a memoir, and that "it has been unbelievably traumatic reliving an emotionally abusive relationship and confronting so many massive issues in my life."
“I am being very honest about drinking to numb my pain, but that is just a way a lot of people mask what is really going on," she said. “Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel. But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol – it is underneath all that. ... I am still struggling but if I can shine a light on the issue of pain, PTSD and the things men and women do to mask it, I will do."
Brown did not share the name of the rehab center she plans to visit, but says she'll check in sometime in the next few weeks (presumably after the current season of "America's Got Talent" wraps on Sept. 19), and that the location "has to be in the U.K. because I am very, very British and I know that will work best for me."
Brown and Belafonte divorced last year following a lengthy battle in which Brown accused her ex of beating and threatening her throughout their 10-year marriage, at one point filing a temporary restraining order against him.
Earlier this month, they reached a settlement regarding their divorce that removes Brown's domestic violence claims against him.
Her rep did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.