Mel B said she did not expect two of her Spice Girls bandmates to turn up at her recent weddings to Rory McPhee, telling The Post that she had put her then-fiancé in charge of the guest list and was surprised to see Emma Bunton and Mel C on her special days.
The singer, 50, married McPhee, 37, in a private ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on July 5 and held a second wedding at Selman Marrakech in Morocco on Aug. 3. Bunton, 49, attended the London nuptials and the evening reception at The Shard’s Shangri-La Hotel, while Mel C, 51, was among guests at the Morocco ceremony.
"I didn’t expect any of them to come, to be honest, because it was a very intimate, private thing, and I know everybody’s busy," Mel B said. She added that Victoria Beckham "was busy and she sent me lots of gifts," and that Geri Halliwell-Horner "was off with Formula 1." Mel B said the bandmates had sent well-wishes and had FaceTimed but that she had not anticipated their physical attendance.
Mel B told The Post she asked McPhee to manage invitations because she did not want to be "bombarded with the wedding guest list," mentioning her ADHD and ongoing dress preparations. "I was like, ‘Rory, my ADHD is on fire. I’m still sorting out my dress. You deal with that [guest list]. Here’s my list of who I want to come. Figure it out,'" she said.
Halliwell-Horner was photographed at the British Grand Prix on July 6, the day after the London ceremony. Her husband, Christian Horner, had been the Red Bull team principal until his firing on July 9, weeks after being cleared of inappropriate behavior allegations, a development that the couple has navigated publicly this summer.
Mel B and McPhee, who had been dating for three years before becoming engaged in October 2022, have spoken previously about how the relationship developed from a long friendship. Mel B has said McPhee supported her through the aftermath of her 2017 divorce from Stephen Belafonte and was present when her father, Martin Brown, died of cancer that same year.
She has also said the Moroccan ceremony held particular meaning: it was the last place she had been on holiday with her father before his death, and that fact contributed to choosing the location for their second wedding.
Beyond wedding coverage, Mel B has been promoting Apple TV+’s singing competition series KPOPPED, in which two Western artists pair with South Korean idols to perform K-pop versions of their hits before a live Seoul audience. Mel B and Bunton represented the Spice Girls in the show; their episode featured remixed versions of the group’s 1996 hits "Wannabe" and "Say You’ll Be There," performed alongside K-pop girl group ITZY.
Mel B said she and Bunton chose not to compete against each other on the episode, remaining a team so they could sing more than one song. The episode with the Spice Girls members was among several featuring established artists, including Patti LaBelle, Boy George, Boyz II Men, Kylie Minogue, Taylor Dayne, Vanilla Ice, J Balvin, Eve and Megan Thee Stallion. KPOPPED is streaming on Apple TV+.
Mel B’s remarks to The Post offered a snapshot of a private summer for the pop star amid renewed public activity: weddings, promotional appearances, and collaborative performances with fellow Spice Girls. She described the ceremonies as intimate and said the presence of Bunton and Mel C was a welcome, if unexpected, surprise on two days she described as emotionally meaningful.
KPOPPED and the recent public appearances mark a period of renewed visibility for the former girl-group member, who continues to balance personal milestones with professional projects and promotional duties.