23 February 2024 , 23:18
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Following in the footsteps of royalty, Spice Girl Melanie Brown has revealed she is set to tie the knot for the third time at St Paul's Cathedral.
In October 2022, Melanie, better known as Mel B, 48, announced that she is walking down the aisle once again with her hairdresser boyfriend Rory McPhee. Mel was given the coveted award of an MBE in the same year as confirming her engagement. And since then, she has remained tight-lipped over the details of her nuptials. In a recent interview she explained: "As I have an MBE I am allowed to marry at St Paul’s. They only do a small number of weddings a year so we are on the waiting list."
Hoping that she can follow in the footsteps of Princess Diana who married the now King Charles in 1981, she continued to tell The Sun that she has already met with the chaplain of St Paul's. She told the publication: "Because I have been married twice before we talked about that. I was very open and honest. I take marriage seriously and am actually very traditional.I spoke about how I was married for ten very abusive years."
And luckily for Mel, her previous marriages did little to dissuade the chaplain who confirmed that he would be happy to approve them. But when it comes to her bridal party, Mel said she was reluctant to include the members of the Spice Girls - Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Chisholm.
According to Mel they were too "old" to be walking down the aisle as her bridesmaids. Rory got down on one knee to propose to Mel, with a £100,000 ring at the five-star country house Cliveden Hotel in Berkshire. Mel admitted her happy news during an episode of Celebrity Gogglebox starring alongside comedian Ruby Wax for a special episode for Stand Up 2 Cancer.
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The iconic Spice Girls singer collecting her MBE in 2022 (PA)Ruby asked Mel: "You told me you got engaged the other day. What did he actually say?"And a loved up Mel replied: "He said ‘I love you, you’re my best friend and I want to spend the rest of my life with you’.” The iconic pop star added: “There were rose petals everywhere, a log fire, a hotel - which was Cliveden. It was very romantic. I love flowers.”
And understandably Mel burst into tears. The couple had been dating at that time for roughly four years. The star has been married twice before. Her first marriage was to backing dancer Jimmy Gulzar, who she shares eldest daughter Phoenix Chi with.
Her second marriage was to US TV producer Stephen Belafonte, which lasted 10 years but unfortunately for Mel, the marriage was blighted by emotional and physical abuse. They share a daughter named Madison together. But the singer also has a child with legendary comedy actor and stand-up star Eddie Murphy.
According to those close to Mel, Rory has reaffirmed her trust in men after feeling despondent and not wanting to enter into another relationship again. Speaking about her turbulent marriage to Stephen, Mel said: "Nearly five years on I still wake up in the early hours with terrifying fragments of sounds and images flitting into my brain." Mel became a patron for domestic violence survivors' charity, Women's Aid, in November 2018 and was later awarded an MBE for her work helping other women suffering domestic abuse.