Geri Horner has cancelled plans for a new Spice Girls reunion tour after her feud with bandmate Mel B became increasingly ugly.
The group had been in talks about another run of dates and had even contacted Victoria Beckham about a possible guest appearance, with the band keen to repeat the success of their recent shows.
But sources close to the group say a bitter rift between the pair – who were once so close they had a fleeting romance – has now driven a wedge between the group and Geri has now walked away completely.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Geri has had enough to deal with after all the drama with her husband’s relationship with his assistant – it’s been quite a difficult time and she’s just lost patience with Mel and his little taunts and comments.
“She’s gone and without Geri it’s not really going to happen. She’s been a driving force in the group in the past but she doesn’t want to deal with Mel at all at the moment let alone share the stage with her.”
Geri Horner has cancelled plans for a new Spice Girls reunion tour after her feud with bandmate Mel B became increasingly ugly.
The group had been in talks about another series of dates and had even contacted Victoria Beckham about a possible guest appearance (LR Geri, Victoria, Emma Bunton, Mel B and Melanie C in 1995).
Last week, Mel once again mocked her former friend by wishing her a “Happy 75th Birthday” online alongside a series of unflattering photographs from her heyday – seemingly a reference to her previous taunts that Geri had lied about her age in the past.
Insiders say there has been plenty more taunts and behind-the-scenes comments that have infuriated Geri, who has had a tough six months amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour by her husband, Formula One boss Christian Horner, with a female assistant.
The source added: “They’ve always had a complicated relationship but this has become very complicated now and no one has been able to work things out between them so it’s all over again.”
MailOnline has contacted Spice Girls’ representatives for comment. Mel B’s rep declined to comment.
It is the latest in a series of rows following their “frosty” meeting at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday party in April.
The star-studded evening brought all five Spice Girls together to party, but Mel and Geri’s greeting was said to have been tense.
Despite posing for a smiling photo with Victoria, Mel C and Emma Bunton, The sun She said Mel and Geri were feeling tense.
Last week, Mel once again mocked her former friend by wishing her a “Happy 75th Birthday” online alongside a series of unflattering photos from her heyday.
Geri has had a difficult six months amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour by her husband, Formula One boss Christian Horner, with a female assistant (pictured in 2019)
Prior to the reunion, Mel B claimed in an interview that Geri had been lying about her age for years.
Despite travelling the world together in the band’s heyday, Scary Spice claimed Geri always kept her passport close to her chest, so she “still doesn’t know” how old she is.
Following the interview, the pair were said to have kept their distance from each other at Victoria’s party, before Mel allegedly tried to offer her an olive branch.
A source told the publication: ‘Mel tried to smooth things over with Geri at the party but it didn’t go as planned. She was having a laugh but Geri didn’t seem interested in hearing what she had to say and walked away.
‘When it came to taking the group photo, Geri stood as far away from Mel as possible, which was awkward to see.
‘Geri wanted to be there to celebrate and have a good laugh with everyone, not talk to Mel about the embarrassing things he had said about her.’
Mel previously told Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that she and Geri had previously slept together.
In the video, Piers asked Mel: “You came here to be brutally honest: did you or didn’t you sleep with Geri Halliwell? Did you sleep with her?”
Mel, who seemed shy, initially tried to avoid the question, telling Piers: “Yes. We all sleep together in one bed, but not like this, all of us.”
But Piers wouldn’t budge and asked: “Did you sleep with Geri like that?” to which Mel smiled and nodded, while a shocked Piers replied: “Yeah? Really?”
Geri has since denied the affair ever took place and Mel has been accused of staging it to sell copies of her tell-all memoir, Brutally Honest.
A source close to the band said: “It’s not a very nice thing to do, even if you have a book to promote.”
“Nothing ever happened. We all know Mel B loves headlines. It may have been funny 15 or 20 years ago, but it was over the top and not funny at all.”
It is the latest in a series of rows following their “frosty” meeting at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday party in April, which many hoped would trigger a planned reunion.
Although there was no official announcement, when asked in March, Mel insisted that a Spice Girls reunion was in the works.
Speaking to Loose Women, she stressed: “We’re definitely going to do something… I’ll probably get told off, but I’ve said it, here we go! This year we’re going to do something. I’m in trouble now…”
The following month, The Mail revealed that plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a documentary had fallen through.
After Beckham’s Netflix documentary, made by David’s TV company, was a huge success last year, the Spice Girls began talking to the streaming service about the possibility of making a similar all-access show about the group and their phenomenal success.
It was intended to include extensive interviews with all of the “girls” and their families, talking about their experiences of fame and life since their pop heyday.
The idea was to link the documentary with the 30th anniversary of the group’s founding in 1994.
However, although Victoria, Mel B, Mel C and Emma were enthusiastic about the doctor, after several meetings Geri was still against the idea and they could not convince her.
This disagreement, certainly not the first in the group, created a bit of a coldness between Ginger and the other girls, Alison Boshoff reported.
Some believe Geri was not keen on the scrutiny because of the looming scandal surrounding her husband Christian Horner, whose role at the Red Bull F1 team looked to be in jeopardy after an employee alleged he had harassed her.
The last time the Spice Girls reunited professionally was for an iconic performance at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2019, the band embarked on a UK stadium tour, but fashion designer Victoria decided not to join, claiming she was too busy with her clothing brand.
Christian was cleared in March following an investigation, and the whistleblower lodged an appeal which was subsequently rejected in August, exonerating the Red Bull boss for the second time.
Red Bull confirmed in a statement: “The complainant exercised his right to appeal, and the appeal was lodged by another independent KC. All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded, and the final result is that the appeal is not admissible.”
“The findings of the Conduct Committee have been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. The internal process has been concluded.”
A source said: “It may have been awkward for Geri to come out and talk about girl power in these circumstances surrounding Christian, but in truth, even before it all came to light, she wasn’t too keen on reminiscing about those days. She just didn’t want to remember all the fun and wild times they had.”
The last time the Spice Girls reunited in a professional capacity was for an iconic performance at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics.
In 2019, the band embarked on a UK stadium tour, but fashion designer Victoria decided not to join, claiming she was too busy with her clothing brand.
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