manager's comment about thighs kicked off spice girl mel c's struggles with eating disorders
3 minute read
the pressures of fame ended up leading to the spice girls splitting up in 2000, shortly before which melanie chisholm (far r) started binge eating. merlin
stay up to date on this topic
mel c, best known as sporty spice of the iconic ’90s girl group spice girls, is opening up about experiencing depression and eating disorders at the group’s height.
the singer — whose full name is melanie chisholm — is talking candidly about her past in the lead-up to the release of her new memoir, out in late september. in her book the sporty one: my life as a spice girl, chisholm writes about being diagnosed with anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, anorexia and a binge-eating disorder.
“i never want to look back on that time negatively, but it is important for me to tell the difficult parts of my past,” she told the daily mail.
manager was surprised she could do flips with “thighs like that”
in 1994, when the spice girls still went by their previous name, touch, chisholm was 20. it was when she was demonstrating an impressive feat of athleticism — doing a round-off backflip — that chic murphy, the group’s manager at the time said he was surprised she could do backflips “with thighs like that,” she recounts.
she was “mortified,” she said. so she started dieting.
“i started with the elimination of food groups,” she told the daily mail. “back then, fat was the enemy. and then of course, the fear of carbs came in. i got to the point where, for a couple of years, i was predominantly eating fruit and vegetables and that was it.”
it never got so bad that she had to be hospitalized, she said. but her periods stopped, a common sign that the body isn’t getting enough calories.
“i was quite unwell for a few years,” chisholm said. “when i look back, i don’t know physically how i did it; when you consider how little i lived on and how much exercise i was doing alongside a brutal schedule.”
later, she found out that murphy had said something similar to her bandmate, victoria beckham (posh), urging her to lose weight as well. beckham wrote about her own experience with anorexia in her 2001 memoir leaning to fly. and in 2016, another spice girl — geri halliwell (ginger spice) — told oprah that bulimia was her “coping mechanism” while dealing with the scrutiny of the spotlight.
advertisement
the group ended up firing their initial managers, and it was one of their new managers who sent chisholm to an eating disorder clinic. she’s grateful he did, she said, but her problems weren’t over.
the pressures of fame ended up leading to the spice girls splitting up in 2000, shortly before which chisholm started binge eating “to the point of sedation,” and often drank excessively.
“so many of my issues were driven by control or lack of control. i was binge drinking. i was binge eating,” she said. “i was embarrassed and ashamed of it. i had to keep it a secret because even though you’re in denial about it, there’s still that tiny little voice going: ‘this isn’t right, you can’t continue like this.'”
people often transition from anorexia to binge eating
it’s common for people to transition from anorexia to binge eating. according to a 2021 study, nearly 42 per cent of people with anorexia later develop binge-and-purge behaviours.
“mental health professionals should be aware of the frequent onset of [binging and purging behaviours] in [restrictive-type anorexia nervosa] and its risk factors and take this information into account” in treating people with anorexia, the study concluded.
“i never, ever made myself sick, but i tried,” chisholm said. “i felt so disgusting.”
she eventually sought help on her own, which led to various diagnoses.
reflecting on that time now, she says it’s astonishing how much pressure was placed on the group, starting when they were in their late teens and early 20s — ages where many people are vulnerable to the onset of mental illness.
“when i look back i am shocked about how much work we were supposed to do, how little time we had off, how little support we had for our mental health,” she said. “it wasn’t even considered back then.”
if you’re struggling with an eating disorder, you can find information and resources via the national eating disorder information centre.
advertisement
maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com
thank you for your support. if you liked this story, please send it to a friend. every share counts.
share story
