Mel B's third time's a charm: tying the knot with celebrity hairstylist Rory McPhee

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14 hours ago

A truly regal love story unfolded as the 50-year-old former Spice Girl officially exchanged vows with celebrity hairstylist Rory McPhee. Their wedding, befitting a royal affair, took place in one of the world's most iconic churches.
Image: Mel B/Instagram
Once known as the bold and unapologetic Scary Spice from the girl band, Spice Girls, Melanie Brown (aka Mel B) is now celebrating something softer and perhaps more powerful: healing, love and a third chance at happiness.
Mel B has lived a life in the headlines from chart-topping fame to tabloid-fueled heartbreak. Her love life has included a series of well-documented highs and harrowing lows.
But after years of kissing frogs (and being burned by a few), Mel B's love story has finally taken a fairy tale turn.
At 50, the former Spice Girls member has officially tied the knot with celebrity hairstylist Rory McPhee in a wedding that reads like a royal love story, fittingly set in one of the most iconic churches in the world.
The ceremony, held on Saturday, July 5, in the Crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral in London the very same venue where Princess Diana and Prince Charles once exchanged vows wasn't just a celebration of love.
It was a full-circle moment for a woman who had sworn off marriage after two painful divorces and a very public struggle with domestic abuse.'I was like, 'I'm never going to get married again.
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Never, never, never,'' she confessed in a March 2024 "PEOPLE" interview. 'And then … never can say never, can you?'
This former Spice Girl has had her share of relationship ups and downs but there's one thing about love that Mel B knows for sure - it comes in all shapes, forms and genders.
Mel B, who's always been candid about being sexually fluid, reflected on her long-term relationship with her ex-girlfriend, movie director Christine Crokos, Gay Star News in 2019.
While the pair kept their relationship out of the spotlight until after they split in 2006, Brown has shared a little about it since a picture of them kissing circulated online in the early 2000s.
In addition, she reportedly had a brief sexual relationship with Spice Girls bandmate Geri Horner in the 1990s, which Horner denied.
Mel B's change of heart came after finding genuine companionship with McPhee, now 37, someone she's known since before her Spice Girls fame, and who had quietly been in her life as a friend long before romance bloomed.
He proposed during a cosy weekend in Berkshire, telling her simply: 'I love you, you're my best friend, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.'
Mel B's love life has long played out under the glare of the spotlight often with painful consequences. Her first marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar lasted from 1998 to 2000 and resulted in her eldest daughter, Phoenix Chi, now 26.
She later had a daughter, Angel Iris, 18, with comedian Eddie Murphy, and was married to producer Stephen Belafonte from 2007 to 2017, with whom she shares her youngest, Madison, 13.
But it wasn't just failed relationships. Her memoir 'Brutally Honest' laid bare the emotional toll of her marriage to Belafonte, which she alleges was marred by physical, emotional, and financial abuse.
In a 2018 interview with "USA Today", Mel B said she found herself broke and broken.
'I didn't realise that I didn't have as much money as I thought I had. So I literally had to eat humble pie, live with my mum.'
The Spice Girls in their glory days.
Image: Spice Girls/Facebook
These revelations were not just tabloid fodder they helped shine a light on domestic abuse.
For her advocacy work, Mel B was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2022, which ultimately made her eligible to wed at St. Paul's Cathedral.
According to "E! News", she walked down the aisle in a custom ivory gown by British designer Josephine Scott, later changing into another elegant dress by Justin Alexander for the reception.
According to Caroline Black, owner of Evelie Bridal Boutique, 'Mel was a dream to work with, bringing her own sense of style to the occasion.'Her three daughters served as her bridesmaids a powerful image of generational unity, resilience, and love.
The reception, held at the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel inside The Shard, the tallest building in the UK, was filled with a blend of glitz, glam, and genuine support. Among the A-listers were fellow Spice Girl bandmate Emma Bunton, model Cara Delevingne, comedian Katherine Ryan and model Daisy Lowe.
According to relationship experts, 'The most enduring relationships are those rooted in friendship, mutual respect, and personal healing. When someone has done the work to understand their past pain, they show up differently in love.'
This rings true for Mel B, who's been vocal about therapy, recovery, and rebuilding her life from the ground up.
Instead of a whirlwind romance, this was a slow-burn love, nurtured over years of friendship and quiet support one that started not in the spotlight, but in the shadows of healing.