Everyone probably says of their own youth that those days were the wildest. The 70s, the 80s, the 90s – all decades were crazy in their own way. But the era around the turn of the millennium was something special again. Megastars like Jennifer Lopez, Eminem and Britney Spears dominated the headlines. And of course: Robbie Williams and the Spice Girls. And almost since then, a rumor has persisted: Robbie Williams, the former “bad boy” of the boy band Take That, is said to have had affairs with four of the five Spice Girls.
He started the rumor himself by making a questionable joke on the open stage a few years after the start of his solo career: “I was very lucky to be in Take That – and in four out of five Spice Girls.” In 2016, when Williams was living a more settled life, he himself felt uncomfortable with the line and tried to downplay it as a bad gag. “It was a joke and the joke went too far. I want to apologize to all the Spice Girls and their husbands and friends. I know some of them weren’t too happy about that joke.”
Joke or not, speculation as to whether the cheeky claim was true or not has continued ever since. Now there is more clarity: “Sporty Spice” Mel C commented on it. In her new autobiography, she writes about her affair with Williams in the mid-90s – which she has long since overcome. “Relationships come and go,” she comments. “It hurts a lot while you’re going through it, but once you’re over it, you’re over it and you can move on with your life.”
However, she cannot resist a little tip: “It feels good to have made the truth public.” In addition to Mel C, Williams was definitely involved with Geri Halliwell, who he says helped him a lot when fame and drug addiction bothered him. He also wrote the song “Eternity” for Halliwell. What may or may not have happened to Emma Bunton is unclear. In any case, in an interview, she was at a loss as to where Williams’ claim could come from. “You’re funny and we love you, but stop saying that,” she wrote to him in an email. “I asked: Where did that even come from?!”
“Scary Spice” Mel B made it very clear that she certainly didn’t fall for the pop star’s charm. “He probably wishes that! He never dated me. We’re friends – yuck! And he was with my girlfriends, I don’t want their reheated leftovers.” And in the case of Victoria Beckham, it was Williams himself who hastily tried to nip such assumptions in the bud: “No, I didn’t, really not,” he once answered a radio host’s question. “I said four out of five because it was good for the joke”.
In the meantime, however, grass should have grown over the whole thing: everyone involved has long since been happily forgiven, many have started families. Robbie Williams has been married to actress Ayda Field since 2010 and they have two children.
Sources: “Express”, “Courier”
