Mel B recalls 'falling in love' with a woman (2024)

Mel B has opened up about her five year relationship with a woman, saying 'she was and always will be open when it comes to her sexuality.'

The Spice Girl, 48, who is engaged to hairdresser Rory McPhee, has admitted she was 'in love' with her long term girlfriend Christine Crokos, before they parted ways in 2006.

On being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Mel told Attitude: 'I feel like I am. I didn’t start off my sexual journey going, “I’m this, I’m that, I’m bisexual.”

'I was, and always will be, very open. I happened to fall in love with a woman and was with her for five years. We still talk to this day.

'I don’t want to put a label on it, but I’ve always thought women are beautiful.'

Speaking about their relationship to Gay Star News in 2019, the singer said: 'It wasn’t experimentation. I fell in love with a woman for five years. An experiment doesn’t last five years.'

Mel previously said on Piers Morgan's Life Stories that she and her Spice Girls bandmate Geri Horner had previously slept together.

In the clip, Piers is seen asking Mel: 'You were coming here to be brutally honest - did or didn't you sleep with Geri Halliwell? Did you sleep with her?'

Looking bashful, Mel at first tries to dodge the question, telling Piers: 'Yeah. We all slept in a bed together, but not like that, all of us.'

But Piers was relentless, asking: 'Did you sleep with Geri like that?' to which Mel smiles and nods as a shocked Piers checks, 'Yes? Really?'

'She's going to hate me for this because she's all posh in her country house with her husband,' said Mel of Geri, who is married to Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner.

The mother-of-three also detailed her night of passion with the Lift Me Up hitmaker on 2Day FM's Grant, Ed and Ash.

Mel shared: 'I actually didn't really admit to anything... I just admitted we had a little bit of a thing back in the day and that's it. It happened one night!'

While it was claimed that the America's Got Talent judge's comments caused a rift among the Spice Girls ahead of their tour, Mel told the radio station they are doing just fine.

'I was on the phone with Geri. It was all tongue in cheek and I didn't go into detail,' she said, adding the band is still going ahead with their scheduled tour.

'I texted her and said I admitted on Piers that we had a little thing so don't worry about it, it was all tongue in cheek.

'I didn't go into detail and it was pre your husband and pre your babies and mine. We had a long conversation. She texted me the night of and then we spoke at length.

'I don't now why everyone is making such a big deal about it!'

Mel was married to Jimmy Gulzar from 1998 to 2000 and the couple welcomed daughter Phoenix Chi, 25, while they were together.

The singer claimed that she left Jimmy because she became depressed over the dancer's lack of interest in her and any intimate relations.

Speaking to the Mirror about their divorce in 2017, Jimmy said: 'I was said to be the bad guy – Gold Card Jimmy who couldn't keep her satisfied. It was horrible, the power of celebrity. What good is cash when you're emotionally dying?'

She later tied the knot with Stephen Belafonte in 2007, and they share daughter Madison. Mel is also mother to Angel.

Mel filed for divorce from Hollywood movie producer Stephen in March 2017, following allegations of abuse, which he has repeatedly denied.

It comes after Mel shared details of her and fiancé Rory McPhee's royal wedding venue as they prepare to tie the knot.

Mel, who announced her engagement to Rory, 35, in November in 2022, recently hinted that the two have confirmed a wedding date.

In an interview with The Sun, she explained: 'As I have an MBE I am allowed to marry at St Paul's. They only do a small number of weddings a year so we are on the waiting list.'

'Because I have been married twice before we talked about that. I was very open and honest. I take marriage seriously and am actually very traditional. I spoke about how I was married for ten very abusive years.'

Elsewhere, Mel claimed the Spice Girls - Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, Mel C and Geri Halliwell - are too 'old' to be walking down the aisle as her bridesmaids.

Mel and Rory have been dating since 2019 and, in 2021, Rory proposed with a £100,000 engagement ring.

One insider told the Sun hat Mel said 'yes' immediately, adding: 'But it was incredibly ­emotional because after everything she has been through, it was a really big moment for her.'

Mel has previously said: 'Because I have an MBE I can get married at the same place Princess Diana married Charles. I'm still waiting to here back from St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

'We have put all our forms in and we are just waiting on them to give us the day.'

The chapel at St Paul's Cathedral is reserved for exclusive use by those with an MBE or OBE. Mel received an MBE in 2022 for her services to charitable causes and vulnerable women.

Mel has also also delighted fans by revealing that a certain Spice Girl would be designing her wedding dress.

'Once I get the date, I will go wedding dress shopping. Victoria Beckham wants to make me a dress,' she said.

Mel revealed that her fellow Spice Girls have given her fiancé the seal of approval and even cried at the news of their engagement .

The pair have known each other for many years, with them both being from Leeds and Rory being best friends with Mel's cousin, Christian Cooke.

She and Rory are thought to have been reintroduced through friends in LA, including celebrity make-up artist Renee Camilleri.

Their relationship then became more serious when Mel returned to the UK for the Spice Girls reunion tour.