When Mel B appeared on ITV’s Loose Women last week, she let slip that the Spice Girls’ much-anticipated reunion tour would be announced this year.
But fans should not get too excited just yet, as The Mail On Sunday can reveal that Ginger Spice Geri Horner has not yet committed to any new shows.
Nor, sources claim, will she. They say she has been so consumed by the intense focus on her marriage following claims her husband Christian Horner sent inappropriate messages to a female colleague on the Red Bull Formula 1 team that touring is far from her mind.
The idea that the ordeal has left Geri unprepared for a string of demanding shows has been reinforced by her appearances at the Grands Prix in Saudi Arabia yesterday and Bahrain last week, shorn of the “girl power” energy that made her group the toast of the 1990s.
Instead, the 51-year-old appeared subdued as she turned out in support of her husband. Nor is the sexting scandal over, even though an independent probe cleared Horner – who is paid £8 million a year – of misconduct.
The subsequent suspension of the woman who made the complaint has only fanned the flames, with commentators agreeing it is not a “good look” for Red Bull to punish her.
The Spice Girls’ comeback tour – following the 2019 reunion gigs without Victoria Beckham – would mark 30 years since the group’s formation.
A source says: “The girls have been discussing the new live shows for some time. It all looked very hopeful, even though Victoria was not going to be involved.
“Geri always loved the Spice Girls and has been a real cheerleader for all the past reunions. Thirty years should be a special moment for her.
“That she’s having second thoughts shows the level of turmoil she is in.
“Geri is all about family. She loves being a wife and a mum, and getting everything back on an even keel is what she will be concentrating on. She wants a low-profile existence now.”
Indeed, Bahrain was the first time she had been seen in public since January when the sexting story first broke. However, a friend said she feels she needs to appear at events such as yesterday’s race in Jeddah so she can be seen as ‘moving on’ from the “tiring” speculation over her marriage.
It may have been similar thinking that prompted the Spice Girls to release a previously unseen video of their first exuberant audition last week. But the footage served only to highlight how much the recent images of red-eyed Geri differed from the lively, determined woman with a cheeky smile in that video.
During her travails, Geri has been in contact with Victoria and fellow Spice Girl Emma Bunton. “The girls have been worried about Geri,” says one friend.
“Victoria especially has given her strength – she knows more than most what it’s like to be in the public eye when the chips are down.”
Mel B and Mel C are less close, but sources say they are all part of a supportive WhatsApp group. However, it may not be enough to save the reunion tour as Geri puts her energies into her family, not her career.