As she releases her tell-all memoir, Melanie talks candidly to Woman’s Own
WORDS: ANNA MATHESON. PHOTOS: GETTY, MATT HOLYOAK, RICHARD YOUNG/SHUTTERSTOCK
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
There are only five women in the world who’ll ever know what it was like to be a Spice Girl at the height of their fame in the late 90s. But according to Melanie C, there is one man who comes close to understanding how crazy it was. And that is none other than David Beckham, who Melanie describes as an ‘honorary Spice Girl’.
Before Brand Beckham became a global phenomenon, Melanie explains that David, now 47, was adjusting to his own skyrocketing fame at the same time she, Victoria [then Adams], Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton were hitting the big time. ‘We were all so young when it all happened. David’s career was at such an incredible height as well and had its ups and downs at the time, so we kind of lived this crazy existence together,’ Melanie explains. ‘There’s not many people who know what it’s like to be a Spice Girl, but I think David is probably the closest. He spent so much time with us.’
Victoria and David’s legendary coming-together is just one of the many fascinating memories Melanie, 48, touches on in her new memoir, Who I Am: My Story. Having been there at the couple’s first meeting, the singer describes offering Victoria and David her house to meet in when they were first courting. ‘I was definitely the wingman in that whole scenario,’ she laughs to Woman’s Own.
FUN AND FIGHTS
‘Me and Victoria, we behave together in a way we would never behave on our own,’ Melanie says as we ask about a scene in which she describes Victoria drunk and knickerless after celebrating being signed to a record label. ‘The biggest misconception about Victoria is that she’s glum. We had this whole phase of her not smiling. She’s the most fun, she’s the funniest. She’s a great person, a great friend and a great supporter.’
Melanie also details a rivalry of sorts between Melanie B and Geri, as well as her own fraught relationship with the other Mel in the band. ‘Melanie and I really have been through it,’ she says. ‘We’re stronger for it. It’s funny, with all of the girls in the band our relationship has been the most turbulent but then at times of need we’ve often been there for each other.’
SELF-DOUBT
In places, her book is a heartbreaking read. Melanie goes into detail about struggling with an eating disorder while in the band and during her successful
