Geri Horner has pulled the plug on plans for a new Spice Girls reunion tour after her feud with bandmate Mel B escalated.
The group were in talks about a new series of shows and had even contacted Victoria Beckham about a possible guest appearance, eager to emulate the success of their last few shows.
According to insiders, a bitter rift has developed between the pair, who were once so close that they had a volatile romance, which has now driven a wedge between the group and Geri has now split completely.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Geri has a lot on her plate as it is after all the drama in her husband’s relationship with his assistant. It’s been a tough time already. And now she’s lost her patience with Mel and her snide remarks and banter.
“She’s run away and without Geri it’s really not going to work. She used to be a driving force in the group but at the moment she doesn’t want anything to do with Mel, let alone be on 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 were in talks about a new series of performances and had even contacted Victoria Beckham about a possible guest appearance (L-R 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, while also posting a series of unflattering photos from their heyday. This appeared to be a reference to her previous comments that Geri had lied about her age in the past.
Insiders say there have been many more missteps behind the scenes, which have left Geri furious. Geri has had a tough six months after her husband, Formula 1 boss Christian Horner, behaved inappropriately towards a female assistant.
The source added: ‘They’ve always had a difficult relationship, but now it’s completely spiralled out of control and no one has been able to resolve the situation between them. So now it’s over again.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for The Spice Girls for comment. Mel B’s representative declined to comment.
It is the latest in a series of feuds following their “icy” reunion at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday party in April.
At the star-studded party, all five Spice Girls gathered to party, but Mel and Geri reportedly greeted each other tensely.
Despite posing for a smiley photo with Victoria, Mel C and Emma Bunton, The Sun claimed that Mel and Geri were tense.
Last week, Mel made further jokes about her former girlfriend by wishing her a ‘Happy 75th Birthday’ online, alongside a series of unflattering photos from their glory days.
Geri has had a tough six months behind her amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour by her Formula 1 husband Christian Horner towards a female assistant (pictured 2019)
Before the reunion, Mel B claimed in an interview that Geri had been lying about her age for years.
Scary Spice claims that despite Geri travelling the world together during the band’s heyday, she always carried her passport with her and as a result ‘still doesn’t know’ how old she is.
After the interview, the two reportedly kept their distance from each other at Victoria’s party, before Mel reportedly offered her an olive branch.
A source told the publication: ‘Mel tried to make amends with Geri at the party but it didn’t go to plan. She laughed it all off but Geri didn’t seem interested in what she had to say and walked away.
‘When they went to take the group photo, Geri stayed as far away from Mel as possible. It was awkward to watch.
‘Geri wanted to be there to celebrate and laugh with everyone, not to talk to Mel about the embarrassing things she said about her.’
Mel previously revealed on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories that she and Geri had slept together before.
In the clip, Piers asked Mel: ‘You came here to be honest – have you or haven’t you slept with Geri Halliwell? Have you slept with her?’
Mel looked shy and tried to avoid the question at first, then said to Piers: ‘Yes. We all slept in one bed, but not like this, all of us.’
But Piers remained adamant: ‘Is that how you slept with Geri?’ to which Mel smiled and nodded, while a shocked Piers asked: ‘Yes? Really?’
It is the latest in a series of rows following their “icy” reunion at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday party in April, which many had hoped would spark a planned reunion.
Although there has been no official announcement yet, Mel indicated in March that a Spice Girls reunion was in the works.
Speaking on Loose Women, she stressed: ‘We’re definitely doing something… I’ll probably get a bit of a scolding but I’ve said it, here we go! We’re doing something this year. I’m in trouble now…’
The following month, The Mail announced that plans to celebrate their 30th anniversary with a documentary had fallen through.
After the Netflix documentary about Beckham, made by David’s TV company, was such a success last year, the Spice Girls began talking to the streamer about the possibility of making a similar all-access show about the group and their phenomenal success.
Lengthy interviews with all the ‘girls’ and their families would be recorded, in which they would talk about their experiences with fame and about life since their pop heyday.
The idea was to link the documentary to the 30th anniversary of the group, which was founded in 1994.
Although Victoria, Mel B, Mel C and Emma were all enthusiastic about the doctor, after a number of meetings Geri was still against the idea and they could not persuade her.
This disagreement – certainly not the first in the group – caused some coldness between Ginger and the other girls, Alison Boshoff reported.
Some believe Geri was unhappy with the criticism because of the looming scandal surrounding her husband Christian Horner. His role at Formula 1 team Red Bull seemed to be in jeopardy after an employee claimed 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 toured the UK, but fashion designer Victoria surprisingly decided not to go along, as she was too busy with her clothing brand.
Christian was acquitted in March after an investigation, but the complainant has appealed that decision.
A source said: ‘It would have been awkward for Geri to come out and talk about Girl Power in those circumstances surrounding Christian, but honestly, even before it all came out, she didn’t feel like reliving those days. She just didn’t want to discuss all the fun, wild times they had.’
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 toured the UK, but fashion designer Victoria surprisingly decided not to go, saying she was too busy with her clothing brand.