Melanie Chisholm didn’t grow up fantasizing about her wedding day. “Absolutely not,” she says, her tanned brown waves bobbing slightly as she shakes her head to emphasize the point. “I love weddings,” she reassures me. “When I go to other people’s parties, I always have good jokes. But I wasn’t the girl who grew up dreaming about her dress. I was always focused only on my career – I think even relationships took a back seat for me because I was so passionate about what I love, which is performing.”
It hardly needs to be said that her determination paid off. As the energetic, high-ponytailed, always tracksuit-clad Sporty Spice, Mel C was one-fifth of the biggest girl group of all time. When the Spice Girls formed in 1994 at just 20 years old, the aspiring pop star’s wildest dreams came true overnight when their song “Wannabe” was released two years later and quickly became a global phenomenon. Almost 30 years later, the number of number one hits in the UK is still unrivaled.
Melanie has also had a lot of solo success over the years since Spice, and at 52 she’s still making music (her ninth album is dance-infused). Sweatwas released in May). She also has a teenage daughter, Scarlet, with her ex-partner. As for the walk down the aisle? “I got to a point in my life where I just didn’t think it would be part of my story,” she says now. Then Chris Dingwall showed up.
“The spark was immediate,” confirms Melanie, who first connected with the Australian model and producer on Raya. “I was 49 when I met Chris and I was in a really good place. We had a date in Australia and it’s been hard to keep us apart ever since.” Chris has a “very calming energy,” the singer says. “He’s been such a great addition to my life and my daughter’s life. Because, you know, I’m a single mom. My daughter is 17 and we’re both pretty resilient, we’re a team. For anyone coming into our world… it was going to be tough, and he’s just a perfect fit. It’s a great dynamic.”
Even though she had found her happily ever after, the thought of marriage still did not cross Melanie’s mind. But it certainly crossed the mind of Chris, who surprised his partner by popping the question while on holiday in Mallorca last July. “We stayed in a beautiful hotel and had a tasting menu with wine pairings, so the meal took forever,” Melanie recalls. “Even the employees said: “You’re almost there!” The couple then returned to their room “a little drunk and a little full”, where Melanie discovered the room was filled with candles. “It was wonderful, just the two of us,” she says, beaming with happiness. “He couldn’t believe I was surprised, but I was shocked.”