Mel C reveals she was sexually assaulted the night before her first ever Spice Girls gig

Melanie Chisholm has revealed she was sexually assaulted at a hotel the night before the Spice Girls’ first concert.

The 48-year-old singer shared how the ordeal touched her so much that although she tried to bury the memory, it returned in a dream while she was writing her new autobiography.

Melanie, who also revealed she still suffers from depression, said she ignored the incident because of her fear of upsetting people — a trait that also later kept her from seeking the help she needed when she wanted. that her life would end.

The Sporty Spice star said at the time of the assault, when she was 23, she was afraid of making a fuss and had too much on her plate with the Spice Girls performing in front of a crowd of 8,000 in Istanbul in 1997.

But she says she couldn’t deal with it, so it got stuck in her head so much that it came out of nowhere in a dream as she started writing for her new life story Who I Am: My Story, due out Thursday. .

She: ‘It happened to me the night before the Spice Girls’ very first live performance.

“We were in Istanbul, we did two shows there, and we’d never done a full-length concert before, so clearly we’d rehearsed weeks in advance, trying on costumes, makeup here, everything led to the pinnacle of everything I’ve ever had.” want to do and ever wanted to be.

Traumatic: The 48-year-old singer shared how the ordeal affected her so much that although she tried to bury the memory, it returned in a dream while she was writing her new autobiography (the Spice Girls pictured in 1996)

“What drives me is to be on stage, to be an artist, so here we were on the eve of the very first Spice Girls show, so I treat myself to a massage at the hotel.

“And what happened to me, I immediately kind of buried it because there were other things to focus on. I didn’t want to make a fuss, but I didn’t have time to deal with it either.

She continued, “Because I wasn’t on it at the time, I realize I’ve had that buried for years and years and years.

“And when I was writing the book it came to me in a dream, or I woke up a little bit and it was in my mind and it was like ‘Oh my god I didn’t even think about that to have in the book’ ‘.’

Silence: Melanie, who also revealed she still suffers from depression, said she ignored the incident because of her fear of upsetting people (pictured in 1996)

Melanie added: ‘Then of course I had to think ‘Do I want to reveal this?’, and I just thought, ‘I think it’s really important for me to say it and eventually deal with it and process it’ – and for people.

“I suppose in a version of assault it’s a mild version, but I felt violated. I felt very vulnerable. I felt ashamed, and then I felt insecure ‘Did I understand this correctly, what’s going on?’

“I was in an environment where you take your clothes off with this professional person.

‘It has touched me. But I buried it. A lot of people do that.’

Reminder: Mel says not processing it led to it getting stuck in her head so much that it came out of nowhere in a dream as she started writing for her new life story Who I Am: My Story

She said she just got up and walked out of the massage and tried to forget the episode.

Mel, speaking on Wednesday How to fail podcastalso shared how she is still living with the depression that engulfed her by various factors, even though her life is in a much better place than when she was anorexic and at her lowest point.

The former Sporty Spice, who previously spoke of her struggles with fame, weight and body shame, said: ‘Even now, in 2022, I am living with depression. You know, it’s there. I’ve learned a lot to deal with and deal with and keep it at bay, but sometimes it can get the better of me.

“So I think it’s really important to learn what works for you. I think everyone can just have several little tools in the kit to get them through.

Horrible experience: ‘What happened to me, I immediately kind of buried it because there were other things to focus on. I didn’t want to make a fuss, but I didn’t have time to deal with it either.”

“I like to think that I’ve never felt suicidal, but I didn’t want to wake up, which is awful — which is a terrible, terrible place to be.

“Sometimes it felt like my spark had gone out. But most of the time it is there. Even in my darkest moments, there is a little flicker and it pulled me through.

“I’d say it’s so important to talk. I hated…”I don’t want my mom to worry, I don’t want my friends to feel like ‘oh god, here she is again’, not wanting to answer the phone.

‘I am a warrior. I struggled and in my eyes I failed. I failed myself, I failed the public, but I got through it. I came through the other side. My story is that I succumbed to these things and was ashamed of them, but what I am very proud of is that I have overcome all those things.’

The mother-of-one said she has learned to help her mental health through a healthy amount of exercise, eating healthy, sleeping and limiting alcohol.

When asked if she would choose the same life of fame again if she could turn back the clock, she said, “I wouldn’t change it. When I talk about the really hard times, I think ‘I wish I had done that differently’.

“But if I had to do it all over again, I would because I love my life. I have realized my wish and dream to have children and I still do.’

Survivor: ‘I am a warrior. I struggled and in my eyes I failed. I failed myself, I failed the public, but I got through it. I came through the other side’