Melanie C “spent many years trying to find” herself after the Spice Girls’ 2000 split.
The Think About It hitmaker shot to international stardom as Sporty Spice in the late ’90s, known for her high-kicking, tracksuit-wearing stage character. But when the group came to an end, the hitmaker suffered an identity crisis, and she’s only now learned to “embrace all parts of herself”.
Despite releasing several hit solo albums and scoring massive success, she tells the Daily Mirror she battled crippling depression and eating disorders for years as she struggled to find her identity.
“I felt like I had spent many years trying to find myself, who I was when I wasn’t Sporty Spice. Then last year I kind of realised that I am Sporty Spice, what am I trying to find?” she explains.
“I just kind of feel like I can exhale because I don’t need to search any more, I just need to embrace all of these parts of myself.”
On being thrust into the spotlight in her early 20s, the star adds: “That was hard. You find yourself in this situation where you are living your childhood fantasy. I come from a working-class background.
“(But) I was struggling to get out of bed, I felt hopeless, I was very, very teary and I feel like my body took over my mind. I didn’t have the will any longer to stay in this life. That is when I decided to go and see my GP… the first thing he wanted to address was my depression.”
Now, Melanie has finally found happiness and has come back stronger than ever with her eighth, self-titled album.
