Mel C has revealed that the stress she felt from being a part of the original Spice Girls line up led to her being depressed and struggling with eating disorders.
The star was terrified of “losing it all” throughout her time in the band, and one particular incident stands out in her mind.
“I was so hurt and embarrassed,” Melanie told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, after she had a fight with Victoria Beckham at the Brit Awards in 1996.
“We’d all had a few bevvies and on the way out there was a little scuffle between myself and Victoria,” she revealed.
“We can’t say this on air but I asked her to go away. I was told if that behaviour ever happened again, then I would be out.”
“To think I could have messed that up and lost it all… I began to be really, really hard on myself.”
“I think that is where the start of some of my problems came because I had to be very, very strict with myself. I couldn’t allow myself to relax because if I did I might mess it all up.”
Getting emotional, Melanie said: “I think my body actually took over my mind.”
“I went from being anorexic to having a binge eating disorder.”
“That’s when I went to my GP and I was diagnosed with depression. It was such a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
“It was such a relief because I thought, ‘Oh my God, there’s a name for it and I can be helped.'”
Credit: Chris Connor / WENN
Mel revealed that the strain caused her to stay in the band longer than she feels she should have.
“I kind of stayed a bit longer than I wanted to. A lot of that was because I was so unwell.”
“I was struggling being in the company of the girls. I knew I had to go because I had to sort myself out.”
