POP star Mel B has revealed the Spice Girls sent messages of support to Geri while her husband Christian Horner is investigated over “sexting” claims.
The Red Bull Racing chief, 50, is the focus of an internal investigation by the team into his alleged behaviour towards a female colleague.
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Horner, who has led the F1 team since 2005, vehemently denies both controlling behaviour and “sexting” allegations made by the woman.
The probe saw Geri reduced to tears as news broke of the scandal but she has privately insisted Christian did nothing wrong.
Speaking to The Sun Mel, 48, revealed the Spice Girls have been in touch with Ginger Spice.
She said: “We have a WhatsApp group and we have sent messages.”
Read More on Christian Horner
Mel revealed the girl power group’s support as she told of walking away from an abusive relationship.
She was left so broke after walking out on her abusive marriage that she took to shopping in budget stores Lidl and Costco to save cash.
The 48-year-old returned to her native Leeds in 2019 — a year after divorcing abusive ex Stephen Belafonte, 48.
But she was so drained of cash following the ten-year marriage she was forced to move in to mum Andrea’s bungalow with her three kids.
Mel, who has made more than £80million in her career, says: “People will assume, ‘She’s rich, she’s a Spice Girl’.
“But I went from performing to thousands at Wembley on the Spice Girls’ 13-date Reunion Tour in 2019 to squeezing into my mum’s with my kids sleeping in bed with me.
“I didn’t expect that to happen in my 40s after a successful career but I had nowhere else to go.
“Because I was so badly affected financially from my relationship, I had to pick up the pieces.”
Read Mel’s full interview with The Sun here.
How you can get help
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Mel, awarded an MBE in 2022 for her work as a patron for domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, says of her time with Belafonte: “I had always taken care of my own money but over time I didn’t worry about money because in my eyes he was taking care of it.
“But afterwards I realised, ‘Oh my God, I am going to have to start from scratch, Ground Zero’.”
Scary Spice admits that even when safely cocooned in her mum’s bungalow, with her ex thousands of miles away, she struggled to shake off the trauma of that relationship.
She says: “The past five years living with my mum have been intense.
“When you are in an abusive relationship it affects your whole family and I was really angry at my mum for a while.
“I was like, ‘Why didn’t you come and get me when I was with Stephen?’
“But I didn’t know he was calling her and yelling at her and she didn’t know how to reach me.”
