Mel B has said the Spice Girls are ‘rallying behind’ their bandmate Geri Horner-Halliwell amid her husband Christian Horner’s ‘sex text’ scandal.
F1 Red Bull team principal Christian, 50, has been the subject of intense speculation after he was accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by a female employee ahead of the start of the 2024 season.
He had been cleared of allegations of ‘coercive behaviour’ but has been fighting for his future after flirtatious text messages apparently exchanged between him and the female complainant were revealed to 149 F1 figures.
Speaking on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, Mel B, 48, spoke about the controversy and explained how the girl band are supporting Geri.
She said: ‘When you go through something like this you need your friends and family and we all support her. I’m really sorry for Geri.’
Mel B, 48, has said the Spice Girls are ‘rallying behind’ their bandmate Geri Horner-Halliwell amid her husband Christian Horner’s ‘sex text’ scandal
Geri’s husband has been the subject of intense speculation after he was accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by a female employee (Geri pictured on Monday)
Adding the Spice Girls, Mel joked: ‘I’m always the one who says we get together and always get told off.
‘We’re doing something, I just can’t say it.’
Geri was spotted at the Commonwealth Day Service in London on Monday after supporting her husband at both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.
Christian, who has won 13 World Cups since leading the team as a 31-year-old in 2005, had previously thanked his ‘very supportive wife’ for her support during the allegations.
The pair mingled in social circles before embarking on a romance after meeting at the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix.
“(Geri) was a guest of (former Formula One Group CEO) Bernie Ecclestone’s in Monaco one year and came down the pit lane,” Horner previously told The Telegraph. ‘I remember (McLaren boss) Ron Dennis standing next to me and Eddie Jordan was there too.
‘She gave Ron a kiss on the cheek and she gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek. So I was like, ‘OK, I want a kiss on the cheek here!’ And I went over to give her one and she threw her hand out at me.’
However, their relationship got off to a rocky start and came under fire after the Red Bull boss left his long-term partner Beverley Allen six months after she gave birth to their daughter Olivia.
He had been cleared of allegations but flirtatious text messages apparently exchanged between him and the female complainant were leaked to 149 F1 figures (Christian and Geri pictured last week)
Speaking on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, Mel B spoke about the controversy and explained how the girl band are supporting Geri
She said: ‘When you go through something like this you need your friends and family and we all support her. I’m really sorry for Geri
Joining the Spice Girls, Mel joked: ‘I’m always the one who says we get together and always get told off’
While the couple took a short break to see if Christian could salvage his relationship with the mother of his child, just nine months later he announced his engagement to Ginger Spice in an ad in The Times in 2014.
It said: “The engagement is announced between Christian, son of Mr and Mrs GM Horner and Geraldine, daughter of the late Mr LF Halliwell and Mrs A Parkinson.”
The former Spice Girl and Red Bull boss tied the knot at St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire, in 2015.
The singer shares Bluebell 17 with her screenwriter ex Sacha Gervasi. They separated before her birth.
Geri staged another public show of unity with Christian as she watched his team win with another one-two finish in Jeddah earlier this week.
The former Spice Girl and Red Bull boss tied the knot at St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire, in 2015
The singer shares Bluebell 17, (pictured) with her screenwriter ex Sacha Gervasi. They split before her birth (pictured)
Geri and Christian in a holiday photo taken on an unidentified beach over Christmas
Although the pair were spotted cozying up again in front of the cameras, insiders claim the leaked text scandal ‘has been hard on her’.
Earlier this week, Christian’s accuser was suspended with full pay as a direct result of Red Bull’s inquiry because she was allegedly ‘dishonest’ when giving evidence.
As the spotlight continues to shine on the couple, a source close to the pair told The Sun: ‘It’s been tough but Geri has been a rock for Christian through all of this and he’s spoken out about how much it means to him .
‘There was no question of her staying away from Saudi – that would have sent a completely wrong message.’
Christian also met reporters at a press conference on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s race and admitted the scandal had taken its toll on his family, while fending off questions about the woman at the centre.
He also said his wife had been “very supportive” but admitted the scandal had been “very trying” on his family.
“It’s obviously been a very trying period,” he said. ‘I am married and have three children. And when that intrusion includes your children and the control placed on your marriage.
‘I am very lucky that I have a beautiful family and a very supportive wife. Of course it’s very trying, it’s very challenging. When there are children involved, parents, families, it’s not pretty.’
Geri pictured arriving at Saudi Grand Prix to show support for husband Christian over ‘sex text’ scandal
The couple appeared to be in good spirits and comfortable around each other
Geri also accompanied Christian on race day last week in a defiant show of support for her vulnerable husband
He added that the complaint had been “handled in the most professional manner” by Red Bull’s parent company GmbH, which had appointed one of the best “KCs in the country”.
After fielding a barrage of questions on the subject, he called for the invasion of his privacy to end and attention turned to racing.
“The burglary of my family is now enough,” he said. ‘We have to move on. It is now time to focus on why we are here, which is to drive Formula 1 races.’
Friends of the star claimed last week that ending her marriage to Christian – the man she sees as the ‘Prince Charming’ she has longed for since she was a little girl, would ‘break her heart’.
The scandal is believed to have thrown the couple’s marriage ‘in doubt for the first time’.
Friends close to Geri, who resolutely stood by her husband of nine years throughout the internal investigation, revealed she had ‘the meltdown to end all meltdowns over the leak’.
The mum-of-two has been left ‘feeling humiliated’ after the messages were spread ‘so far out there’, a friend added.
Hundreds of intimate WhatsApp exchanges, allegedly between Horner and the colleague, were released via an anonymous email account.
Geri had told friends she was ‘relieved and elated’ that the claims against her partner had ‘finally been cleared’.
Friends of the Spice Girl told the Mail she thought the scandal had ‘finally gone away’ but have warned the intimate messages – of which there are 79 screenshots – could ‘destroy’ her.
One said: ‘Christian kept promising there was nothing to it.’
Another said he now fears how the star, who has been horrified by the embarrassing fall, will be able to understand such public humiliation.
He said: ‘Geri has been living in this happy happy bubble for so many years now, she thought she had her prince and her knight in shining armour, but now this.
Christian and Geri’s relationship came under fire after the Formula 1 boss left his long-term partner Beverley Allen (pictured) six months after the birth of their daughter, Olivia
Halliwell and Horner attend the gala dinner for the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco on 28 May 2023
‘She thought it was all gone, she was happy and over the moon when she found out Christian had been cleared.
‘Geri was robbed when she got together with Christian because he had just had another child with another woman, but she has worked hard to remove that image of herself and Christian, and especially that she is a homeless person.
‘Now it’s all collapsed. The tears stopped when the verdict came down on Wednesday, now they will definitely have started again.
‘This will destroy her. Christian promised all the time that there was nothing in it.’