Melanie Brown escaped to the countryside for a quieter pace after years in the spotlight.
“When I bought the farm originally [in 2024], it was just a little barn that had no running water or electricity,” Brown, 49, exclusively shared in the latest Us Weekly cover story.
Brown (known as Mel B) — who’s sprawling 15-acre property is located in the Yorkshire countryside — now has three goats, chickens, ducks and two “massive” Rottweilers. “I just feel like sometimes animals are nicer than people,” she quipped.
The former Spice Girl made sure to bring her 8-year-old “emotional support” Yorkshire terrier–Chihuahua mix, Cookie, to her new property. “She shakes more than I shake, so who’s supporting who?” Brown joked.
Brown, who opened up to Us about finding happiness again after a dark time, shared how she navigates her mental health struggles while in the public eye.
“I make sure I have my brain breaks where I go to Thailand by myself. I go up to my farm without my phone so my kids or fiancé can’t contact me unless they come all the way up to [a different] field,” she said, referring to fiancé Rory McPhee. “I make space to be able to breathe and feel and sit.”
Brown noted that she’s using her voice to help “as many women as possible, especially survivors of abuse,” as a patron for the domestic violence charity Women’s Aid. (Brown shared in her 2018 memoir, Brutally Honest, that she attempted to take her own life four years prior.)
“I’m getting to know myself more and more, especially where I’ve come from, feeling so unconfident and unworthy,” Brown told Us. “I’ve managed to figure out my little road to a peaceful place.”
Scroll down to see Mel B’s life on a farm: