The ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge and her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte had a court hearing relating to the care of their seven-year-old daughter Madison on Tuesday (04.09.18) and the former couple were ordered to abstain from alcohol or drugs at least eight hours before spending time with the youngster.
A source explained to E! News: “The court ordered that neither party can consume drugs or alcohol at least eight hours before caring for Madison, and that they must choose a new custody evaluator by September 14 – both sides will submit names and the court will pick which evaluator to go with.
“After the court picks the evaluator then the evaluation will begin.
“The court today did not take custody away from Mel nor did they give Stephen what he wanted. Things could change in terms of custody down the line once the custody evaluation is complete, there has to be a custody evaluation in order for the court to make new custody orders.”
The insider also slammed claims that Mel – who also has daughters Phoenix, 19, and Angel, 11, from previous relationships – didn’t call Madison on her birthday at the weekend.
They said: “Melanie FaceTimed with Madison on her birthday and she also has a birthday party planned for Madison on Thursday this week. The court is not interfering with those birthday plans.”
The 43-year-old Spice Girls star claimed last month she planned to check into rehab following an “incredibly difficult” six months that had seen her diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but she recently clarified she didn’t need help with alcohol or sex addiction.
She said: “I’ve been in therapy since my father got diagnosed with cancer nine years ago.
“My therapy changed a little bit because I was in a very intense relationship, which you can all read about in my book.
“I do address a lot of those issues. But you know, no, I’m not an alcoholic. No, I’m not a sex addict.
“You know, I was with the same person for 10 years and that was quite a turmoil, very intense. That’s all I can say about it.”