While her former bandmate Mel B revels in the ‘most special’ feeling following her celeb-packed St Paul’s wedding earlier this month, Geri Halliwell-Horner has been going through a tough time in her own marriage – and heat can reveal the former Spice Girl fears it may be too late to save it.
Two weeks ago, Geri’s husband Christian Horner, 51, was sacked as the principal of Red Bull’s Formula 1 team – 17 months after he was embroiled in a sexting scandal with a female colleague. There’s no suggestion the scandal is connected with his sacking, for which no reason has been made public. To add to Geri’s woes, last week it was reported her book company was £1million in debt.
Now, amid the uncertainty, a source tells heat the singer, 52, is leaning on friends as she fears about the future of her marriage. ‘Geri’s been through hell and back over the past 18 months. She put on a brave face while dealing with the humiliation of Christian’s sexting scandal, but now his sacking along with her financial woes has left her fearing they won’t recover from this,’ says an insider.
‘Geri loves Christian and wants their marriage to last. She’s been turning to her close friends like [fellow Spice Girls] Emma Bunton and Mel C, and their support has been a huge comfort. Rylan Clark, in particular, has been a rock. Both she and Christian are dealing with professional crises so, understandably, the tension at home is at an all-time high.’
Geri and Christian first met at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2009, but their relationship didn’t become romantic until 2014. They announced their engagement that November, with Geri writing on social media, ‘Christian and I are delighted to announce that we are engaged! We're both very happy.’ In May 2015, they wed in a star-studded Bedfordshire ceremony.
The couple welcomed their son, Montague – known as Monty – in January 2017, adding to their blended family of Geri’s daughter Bluebell, 19, and Christian’s daughter Olivia, 11. Discussing her marriage last year, Geri said, ‘We’re very much old-school and family focused… We like playing games, too, we’re quite silly.’
Having worked hard to develop her image of a devoted country wife, the sexting scandal last February reportedly rocked the couple to their core, with Christian vehemently denying allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards a female colleague after a series of messages were leaked. A three-week external investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing and Geri stood by him throughout the ordeal, attending the Bahrain Grand Prix with him weeks after the allegations were made.
Then just days before his sacking, it was revealed his first wife and daughter’s mother, Beverley Allen, had died aged 58 after a battle with cancer.
The tough time comes after reports suggesting Geri’s publishing company Falcon Queen Productions is facing a seven-figure debt. The singer launched her teen fantasy book series Rosie Frost And The Falcon Queen in 2023, and despite the first two books making the New York Times bestseller list, the company is running at a loss of just over £1m.
Now, with Christian and Geri set to jet off on their summer holiday next month, our insider says this trip will be crucial. We’re told, ‘They’ve booked a trip to Turks and Caicos, just the two of them, no kids. Christian organised it as a belated 10-year wedding anniversary celebration months ago, and Geri was looking forward to some time away, but she’s said the trip is now make or break. She’s insisting they use the time to talk through what’s happened over the past few months.’
The source adds, ‘Geri’s a mess – she knows, whatever happens, they need this time away so they can start moving forward. The past year has been hell for Geri and, while she loves Christian deeply, she knows she can’t continue like his.’