05 March 2024 , 21:56
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As anyone who has seen her catastrophic cameo in Sex And The City can attest, Geri Halliwell is not a good actress.
And so, the public show of unity she just performed with husband Christian Horner at the Bahrain Grand Prix convinced literally nobody that everything was absolutely fine with her marriage. And, of course, it isn’t – how could it be? But that doesn’t really matter at the moment.
What matters is that she was there, that she forced herself through the ordeal at all. She didn’t say a word, but her statement came through loud and clear: I’m standing by this man. Horner had been the subject of an investigation by Red Bull into allegations of “inappropriate and coercive behaviour” by a female employee – which he denied.
He was cleared, and that seemed the end of it, until less than 24hours later, when a barrage of messages and photos alleged to have been sent by him were anonymously emailed to journalists and Formula One bigwigs. It’s not hard to find the leaked WhatsApps and pictures online, and when reading them you will have an immediate gut reaction.
Since they emerged, there’s been much debate about where exactly the line is when it comes to cheating. The answer, of course, is different for everyone. For me personally, exchanges like the ones Horner is alleged to have sent would not be OK, regardless of whether anything happened in real life. And that’s before taking into account the stomach-churning abuse of power because the woman they were allegedly sent to is his employee.
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For Geri Halliwell, it obviously isn’t that clear cut. She has a child with this man, they’ve blended their families, built a life together, and to the outside eye, she has never looked happier or healthier than in recent years. No one knows the truth of their relationship apart from them.
There could be a million different reasons she’s chosen to work through this, that we have no idea about. It’s her choice, she’s the one who will have to live with it, and only time will tell whether she comes to regret it or not. Traditionally – infuriatingly – the woman always seems to bear the brunt of public opinion in these situations.
'As anyone who has seen her catastrophic cameo in Sex And The City can attest, Geri Halliwell is not a good actress' (Getty Images)When Rebecca Loos alleged an affair with David Beckham – something I’m legally bound to remind you he denies, although increasingly vaguely in his recent documentary – the popular consensus was that Victoria should have moved to Madrid with him. So it was… her fault.
Likewise here, it’s not Geri’s response to Horner’s alleged behaviour that needs critiquing, it’s Horner’s alleged behaviour. Instead of discussing whether she is right, wrong, weak or strong, we should be discussing him apparently betraying a clearly devoted and supportive wife.
If these messages are real, the villain of this tale is Christian Horner – a married father, who, it is claimed, was communicating with a woman who was not his wife, and exploiting his position in a really gross, creepy way to boot. Which is what I would have given him. But I, like everyone, can only speak for myself.
This isn’t what anybody wanted for our eccentric, lovable national treasure Ginger Spice. And it’s definitely not what she deserves. No one does. Let’s hope she’s allowed to deal with the rest of the fallout privately, and not just because seeing her doing any more acting is as painful for us as it must be for her.