Mel's B's estranged husband is expected to get just £5 million in their divorce

A source told The Sun Online: "Mel is a canny Yorkshire lass and was advised to protect her assets and estate before the wedding.

"This wasn't an act of preparing for the marriage to fail but was an act of a hard-nosed business woman who knew the pitfalls that can lie ahead in any relationship."

It isn't known how much was stated in the documents, but legal expert Harold Walker admitted Stephen, 41, could get more than their pre-agreed sum if he could prove he had turned down work in order to support the 41-year-old star's business endeavours.

He said: "A figure could be added to the pre-nup if it is shown that he has effectively turned down work to be at his wife's side.

"I think a total of a £5 million settlement that includes the pre-nup and any additional lost work seems reasonable and certainly a lot less than half of £48 million."

It was previously claimed the former couple had taken their five-year-old daughter Madison and Mel's children Phoenix, 18, whom she has with ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar and Angel, nine, from her fling with Eddie Murphy, to a family therapy session in order to "make sure their kids are OK" in the wake of the split.

The pair were said to have travelled in separate cars to the session which took place in Mulholland Estates in Beverly Hills, at the home of Mel's long time psychiatrist Doctor Charles Sophy.

And all three children travelled in a third car with their nanny.

The reported family therapy session is believed to be the first session of this kind that the pair have attended, though it was previously reported they had tried couples therapy before their split to no avail.

A source said: "They started from the beginning when they realised they were very different people, who would argue and row. Their personalities were like fire and ice, one minute it was pure adoration and the next it was an all-out war.

"It led to them having blow-out arguments non-stop. However, as they got further down the line, the stress of keeping things together proved too much. The therapy prompted more fights and bitterness. Their connection by the end was all but burned out."