Mel B's husband Stephen Belafonte has said he feels he has been the victim of a "witch-hunt" amid reports the pair had split.

The 39-year-old X Factor judge was reported to have walked out on the film producer following a series of arguments which took place before she was rushed to hospital at the end of last week.

A mystery illness caused her to miss filming for one night of the hit show's final, before returning on Sunday - and sparking further rumours by apparently not wearing her wedding ring.

But Mr Belafonte, who on Twitter publicly denied hitting his wife, told The Sun she might no have worn the ring because "maybe her hands were swollen".

The pair, who secretly wed in Las Vegas in 2007 after a whirlwind romance, had not spoken since the former Scary Spice Spice Girl was admitted to hospital, according to the Sun, but Mr Belafonte said they had now spoken by phone.

And he told the newspaper: "You know what, it's not even about Mel and it's not even about me. There were some motives going on from other people on certain things.

"I find it really sad nobody would like for Mel, or us, to be happy. There had to be an attitude of, 'Oh they got into a fight so now let's go for the jugular'.

"And by the way, Mel's never said anything. This is because there's a witch-hunt and a feeding frenzy against me."

The mother of three offered some insight into the couple's private life this week in an interview with Grazia magazine, having turned up late for a photo shoot "not in the best of moods".

"I walked in p****d off because I had a big row with my husband about stupid stuff," she told the magazine's Christmas issue. "Sometimes he p****s me off like no other, but," she added, "he gets me."