Dad of 10 Eddie Murphy Dumped 6-Months-Pregnant Spice Girls Star & Made Her Prove Paternity via DNA

• Eddie Murphy publicly questioned the paternity of Melanie Brown's pregnancy.
• The "Shrek" alum reconnected with his daughter with the Spice Girls alum in 2017.

Eddie Murphy has become a devoted father to his ten children and does not play favorites. However, negative comments he made about the mother of his eighth child have followed him for over 20 years.

The "Nutty Professor" star became a dad for the first time with his ex Paulette McNeely; their son Eric is now in his thirties. Soon after, he and his former girlfriend Tamara Hood welcomed Christian.

With his ex-wife Nicole Mitchell Murphy, he had five children: Bella, Myles, Zola, Shayne, and Bria. His long-time partner and fiancée Paige Butcher gave birth to his youngest two, Izzy and Max.

Melanie Brown, aka Mel B from the Spice Girls, and the actor had a daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown. She was born on his 46th birthday in 2007.

Eddie loves fatherhood and said as much to Marc Maron on the "WTF" podcast in March 2021. "The whole idea of being out there and doing three movies a year, that [expletive] is over... " he said, adding:

"I found over and over again, and along the way, I realized that if you put your children first, you never make a bad decision."

He underlined this sentiment, explaining how when one "hits a crossroads moment" or is in a bad situation, he thinks, "Well, what is best for my children?" This serves as a guide to taking the best course of action.

On if he gets along with all his progeny, he gushed, "I am so blessed with my kids. I don't have one bad seed," knocking on a table, a gesture expressing his hope for his continued good fortune. The actor added:

"I don't have any like 'Oh, you are the one'. I don't have any of that. "My kids are so great, normal people — and nobody is like the Hollywood jerk kid."

He bragged about how smart his kids are, always "trying to do stuff." The Academy Award nominee concluded how lucky and blessed he was with his children.

Eddie Murphy and Mel B Remained in the Headlines for Years after Their Prickly Breakup

Eddie and Mel B, also known as Scary Spice, began dating in 2006. She had also been through a divorce from Jimmy Gulzar, her former backup dancer, a few years earlier. They had one child, Phoenix Chi Gulzar.

Phoenix thought her mother's new boyfriend was "a cool guy" and "funny." She knew him best for voicing Donkey from the "Shrek" franchise. The singer also met Eddie's kids and was reported saying they are a "great big happy family."

The "Too Much" singer and the actor had a falling out over their living arrangements, per "Melanie B - Piers Morgan's Life Stories." This prompted the star, who was pregnant, to take a breather from him and Los Angeles, flying out to Leeds, England, to spend time with her mother.

The actor tried to get hold of his girlfriend, even tracking down her mother's telephone number. Mel B would later say that she had hoped he would make the romantic gesture of coming for her in England, not just calling her mom. By the time she returned to LA, heavily pregnant, to reunite with the father of her child, things had soured considerably on his side.

While promoting "Dreamgirls," the musical in which he starred opposite Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson, Eddie responded in an unexpected way to a Dutch interviewer's questions about Mel B's pregnancy. He said:

"You're being presumptuous because we're not together anymore, and I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test."

Barely a day after these remarks, he graced the red carpet with a new girlfriend, producer Tracey Edmonds, who said they were having fun and had been together for a month and a half.

The Daily Mail reported in December 2006 that the "Coming to America" star had dumped Mel B, then six months pregnant, because she was rude to his mom, Lillian Lynch. Another tabloid claimed that the Spice Girl and Lillian had clashed multiple times.

Following the birth of their daughter Angel in April 2007, Scary Spice and her attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference, confirming that they had asked the court to legally establish that Eddie Murphy was the father of Mel B's baby.

Eddie Murphy Apologized to Mel B

A DNA test found Eddie to be Angel's biological father. The former couple agreed in February 2009 that the "Mama" singer was to have sole custody, with the actor would pay $25,000 a month for child support.

The British-born star moved to reopen the agreement in October 2020. The court documents stated that her earnings had been "dramatically reduced." According to reports, she tried to settle the issue outside the court system without success.

A court ruled in August 2022 that Eddie, who was called an "extraordinarily high earner" in the filing, pay an additional $10,000 a month until the child turns 18. He also agreed to pay his ex's legal fees of $10,000.

The actor now contributes $35,000 per month to his daughter's upkeep, while Mel B is responsible for "add-on" costs such as Angel's education, medical insurance, and extramural activities.

In her 2018 memoir, "Brutally Honest," the mother of three shared that Angel and Eddie reunited in May 2017 and now have a close relationship. The actor's mother facilitated the reunion between father and daughter.

Mel B also revealed in a 2019 feature that Angel was planned. Eddie remains the love of her life, she asserted, and always will be. Visibly shaken when viewing the clip of Eddie questioning the paternity, she said he continues to apologize for those utterances.

Out of respect for his partner Paige, she refused to answer a question about whether there was a chance for them to get back together if Eddie was ever single.