Mel C has revealed her anorexia battle in the Spice Girls left her suicidal
(Picture: Redferns)Mel C has opened up about how her devastating battle with anorexia in the Spice Girls left her suicidal in a new candid interview.
The 48-year-old revealed she used to live on a diet of just fruit and vegetables after first developing the eating disorder in 1994 during the early days of the Spice Girls.
Mel, who was barely out of her teenage years at the time, claims she received comments over her thighs, sparking image issues over her weight which led her to changing her eating habits drastically.
As she promoted her new autobiography Who I Am, Mel told the Daily Mail: “I was quite unwell for a few years, 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.”
The former popstar stopped having her period after developing anorexia and thecondition continued to spiral out of control when the Spice Girls split in 2000.
Mel’s suicidal thoughts appeared during this time as she confessed she hit rock bottom as she began binge drinking and eating.
"I would eat cereal and bread to the point of sedation,” she said.
“I would binge until I was unconscious. I never, ever made myself sick, but I tried. I felt so disgusting.”
Mel mentioned feeling “ashamed” of having anorexia and was “afraid” to face her serious health issues at their worst.
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.”’
“But I didn’t want to face it. I didn’t want to face it until the time when I personally felt like I didn’t have an option. I was afraid of what the alternative was.”
Referring to potential suicide, Mel continued: “My own behaviour discouraged me so much. I didn’t know how far that could progress. So it was definitely time to get outside help.”
Mel later found professional help and found herself in recovery for years for her eating disorder.
Proud of how far she’s come today, she added: "Sometimes when I think of what I have done and what I now deal with every day; with work, with being a mum, with family stuff. And I’m like, f**k, I’m still standing."
:: Anyone seeking help can call Samaritans free on 116 123 or visit Samaritans.org
