Geri Horner has pulled the plug on plans for a new Spice Girls reunion tour – after her feud with bandmate Mel B turned increasingly ugly.
The group had been in discussions about another run of dates and had even made contact with Victoria Beckham about a possible cameo appearance – with the band excited about replicating the success of their last shows.
But insiders say a bitter rift between the pair – who were once so close they engaged in a fleeting romance – has now driven a wedge between the group and Geri has now walked away entirely.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Geri has had enough to deal with after all the drama with her husband’s relationship with his assistant – it has been a tough enough time – and she’s just lost patience with Mel and her little digs and jibes.
‘She’s walked away and without Geri it’s really not going to happen – in the past she’s been a driving force in the group, but she doesn’t want to deal with Mel at all at the moment let alone share a stage with her.’
Geri Horner has pulled the plug on plans for a new Spice Girls reunion tour – after her feud with bandmate Mel B turned increasingly ugly
The group had been in discussions about another run of dates and had even made contact with Victoria Beckham about a possible cameo appearance (L-R Geri, Victoria, Emma Bunton, Mel B and Melanie C in 1995)
Last week saw Mel make fresh jibes at her former friend by wishing her a ‘Happy 75th Birthday’ online alongside a series of unflattering photographs from their heyday, seemingly a reference to her previous jibes that Geri had lied about her age in the past.
Insiders say there have been many more digs and jibes behind the scenes which have infuriated Geri – who has had a tough six months amid allegations of her Formula One chief husband Christian Horner’s inappropriate behaviour with a female assistant.
The source added: ‘They’ve always had a tricky relationship but this has got very messy now and nobody has been able to smooth things over between them – so it’s all off again.’
MailOnline has contacted The Spice Girls’ representatives for comment. Mel B’s representative declined to comment.
It’s the latest in a series of rows after their ‘frosty’ reunion at Victoria Beckham‘s 50th birthday bash in April.
The star-studded soiree saw all five of the Spice Girls come together to party but it was claimed Mel and Geri’s greeting was tense.
Despite having posed for a smiley snap with Victoria, Mel C and Emma Bunton, The Sun claimed Mel and Geri were feeling tense.
Last week saw Mel make fresh jibes at her former friend by wishing her a ‘Happy 75th Birthday’ online alongside a series of unflattering photographs from their heyday,
Geri has had a tough six months amid allegations of her Formula One chief husband Christian Horner’s inappropriate behaviour with a female assistant (pictured in 2019)
Prior to the reunion, Mel B claimed in an interview that Geri has lied 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.
After the interview the pair were said to have kept a distance from each other at Victoria’s party – before Mel reportedly tried to offer and 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 laughing it all off but Geri didn’t seem interested in hearing what she had to say and wandered off.
‘When it came to taking their group picture, Geri kept as far away from Mel as possible which was awkward to watch.
‘Geri wanted to be there to celebrate and have a good laugh with everyone, not talk to Mel about the embarrassing things she’s said about her.’
Mel previously said on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that she and Geri had previously slept together.
In the clip, Piers asked 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 tried 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 smiled and nodded as a shocked Piers checked, ‘Yes? Really?’
Geri has since denied the affair took place, with Mel accused of dreaming it up 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 do have a book to promote.
‘Nothing ever happened. We all know Mel B loves a headline. It might have been funny 15 to 20 years ago but it was over the top and not funny.’
It’s the latest in a slew of rows after their ‘frosty’ reunion at Victoria Beckham ‘s 50th birthday bash in April, which many had hoped would trigger a planned reunion
Despite there being no official announcement, when asked in March Mel insisted as Spice Girls reunion was in the works.
Speaking on Loose Women, she stressed: ‘We are definitely doing something… I’m probably going to get told off but I’ve said it, there we go! We are doing something this year. I’m in trouble now…’
The following month, The Mail revealed that plans to mark their 30th anniversary with a documentary had fallen apart.
After the Netflix Beckham documentary, made by David’s TV company, was such a success last year, the Spice Girls started to talk to the streamer about possibly making a similar all-access show about the group and their phenomenal success.
It was to feature lengthy interviews with all of the ‘girls’ and their families, talking about their experiences of fame and of life since their pop heyday.
The idea was to tie the documentary to the 30th anniversary of the group being founded in 1994.
However, although Victoria, Mel B, Mel C and Emma were all keen on the doc, after a number of meetings Geri was still against the idea and they were not able to talk her round.
This disagreement — certainly not the first in the group — created a little bit of frost between Ginger and the other girls, reported Alison Boshoff.
Some believe Geri wasn’t keen on the scrutiny due to the looming scandal over her husband Christian Horner, whose role at F1 team Red Bull appeared to be in peril after an employee alleged he had harassed her.
The last time the Spice Girls reunited in a professional capacity was for an iconic performance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony
In 2019, the band headed out on a UK stadium tour but fashion designer Victoria notably chose not to join, claiming she was too busy with her clothing brand
Christian was cleared in March after an inquiry, with the complainant launching an appeal that was subsequently thrown out in August, exonerating the Red Bull boss for a second time.
A statement from Red Bull confirmed: ‘The complainant exercised the right to appeal, and the appeal was carried by another independent KC. All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded , with the final outcome that the appeal is not upheld.
‘The KC’s conclusions have been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. The internal process has concluded.’
A source said: ‘It might have been awkward for Geri to get out there and talk about Girl Power in these circumstances surrounding Christian but in truth even before it all came out she wasn’t keen on revisiting those days. She just didn’t want to go over all the fun, wild times that they had.’
The last time the Spice Girls reunited in a professional capacity was for an iconic performance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.
In 2019, the band headed out on a UK stadium tour but fashion designer Victoria notably chose not to join, claiming she was too busy with her clothing brand.