Geri Halliwell was red-eyed and wore a string bracelet ‘to ward off evil and misfortune’ in her defiant display of unity with husband Christian Horner…so was her kiss in full view of the cameras at the F1 ‘just for show’? writes KATIE HIND

Geri Horner yesterday gave a defiant show of unity with her husband amid her fears over leaked flirty messages he allegedly sent to a female colleague.

Her eyes looked red, but the former Spice Girl walked hand in hand with husband Christian at the start of the Formula 1 season in Bahrain.

The beleaguered couple also kissed passionately in the paddock of Mr Horner’s Red Bull team before the Grand Prix, in what appeared to be an attempt to show the world their nine-year marriage was intact.

The situation has been under pressure since Mr Horner was accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by a female colleague in early February.

Just as he was cleared of wrongdoing, a series of WhatsApp messages between him and the woman were leaked to the media.

Her eyes appeared red, but the former Spice Girl walked hand in hand with husband Christian Horner at the launch of the Formula 1 season in Bahrain

Bystanders watched yesterday as Horner and his wife hugged in full view of the cameras, prompting some to suggest that ‘maybe it was just for show’.

Then Ms Horner, 51, who has a seven-year-old son Monty by the Red Bull director, 50, looked deliberately in the direction of the cameras.

Friends of the singer said she wanted to show solidarity after becoming “tired of speculation about the future of her marriage” and that she also wanted to “change the narrative.”

People close to the former Ginger Spice say she is “struggling deeply with the humiliation.”

They fear that despite the couple appearing together, Ms Horner, who has a 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, will not recover from the scandal.

But yesterday she showed the outside world that she was going to fight for her marriage.

She made sure she looked good too, wearing a cream-colored vintage Gucci dress, accessorized with a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes and a mini Hermes Kelly clutch bag for £21,000.

She wore a red string bracelet on her left wrist to signify her commitment to the Jewish spiritual teachings of Kabbalah.

She has long followed this belief and wearing the string is said to ward off any “evil and misfortune” that “might be caused by the evil eye.” Friends say it gives her strength.

Sources close to Ms Horner say she has become increasingly spiritual over the years and has meditated in recent weeks to cope with her trauma.

One source said: ‘Geri is into hippie-dippy spiritual healing, she really believes in it and has been trying to use it a lot lately. Meditation is her big thing, she swears by it.’

She surprised the F1 world when she arrived in Bahrain just hours after the leak of the WhatsApp messages, which were allegedly sent by her husband and which were called ‘inappropriate’.

On Wednesday, Mr Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing following a three-week investigation by an external lawyer from the F1 team’s parent company Red Bull GmbH.

The Horners were said to be ‘excited’ about the continuation of the scandal.

So Ms Horner took off from the VIP terminal at Luton Airport on Thursday morning for a six-hour flight on a private jet owned by billionaire property developer Tony Gallagher.

But by the time she arrived in Bahrain at 6.23pm, her world had fallen apart again after the messages were leaked.

The messages apparently exchanged between Mr Horner and the female complainant were sent to 149 Formula 1 figures, including journalists.

Geri surprised the F1 world when she arrived in Bahrain just hours after the leak of the WhatsApp messages, allegedly sent by her husband, which were called ‘inappropriate’.

The singer was seen wearing a red string bracelet on her left arm, which is said to ‘ward off evil’

It is understood the plane Ms Horner was traveling on had WiFi so she could have seen the messages in the air. When she reunited with her husband that evening at the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bahrain, it was the first time they had met in person since the messages were leaked.

The next day, sources in Bahrain say she was seen ‘out and about’ but managed to evade the cameras. Mr Horner has always denied the female colleague’s claims.

The unrest did not affect his team’s performance, with top driver Max Verstappen winning ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.