Mel C: The Harsh Reality Of Being In The World’s Biggest Girl Band | E179

TL;DR

Mel C reveals that the Spice Girls’ meteoric rise lasted barely two years as a five-piece before Geri left, and that the pressure of fame and a single comment about her thighs triggered a decade-long battle with anorexia, binge eating disorder, and depression.

Key insights

• The divorce of her parents when she was three and subsequent instability (moving to a council estate, a negligent nanny, new step‑family) made Mel feel like an outsider and created a need to prove she
• A comment from financial backer “Chick” about the size of her thighs, made in front of the other girls, was the “catalyst” for her eating disorder – she began restricting food and exercising obsessive
• She describes becoming a “robot” – switching off emotions and reciting “I am a robot” while on a treadmill – as the only way to survive the intensity of fame and to maintain rigid control over food an