Mel B says Spice Girls ‘cried’ over her engagement to Rory McPhee

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Melanie Brown (aka Mel B) has revealed that fellow Spice Girls starsEmma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm (Mel C) “cried” when they heard she was engaged.

Mel B, 47, confirmed her engagement to to hairdresser Rory McPhee last week, stating that the proposal was “very romantic”.

Now, speaking to Hello! magazine, Mel B said: “For the first time in my life, I’m engaged to a beautiful, honest person who makes me feel protected, nurtured and so loved, and I want to savour that.

“Emma (Bunton) cried, so did Mel C,” she added.

“All of them were delighted for us and said, ‘We love Rory, he’s amazing’ and they’ve all sent congratulations cards.”

The singer added that she does care about her fellow Spice Girls’ opinions and that it is “really special” to her that the like Rory so much because “they’ve never liked any of my boyfriends and they’ve been quite clear about that”.

Mel B filed for divorce from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte in 2017, following allegations of abuse. She was also married to dancer Jimmy Gulzar from 1998 to 2000 and has a child with former flame, Eddie Murphy.

Of her bandmates, Mel B added: “They were actually pushing me towards Rory for ages before the two of us became romantic, but I’d say to them ‘It’s not like that; he’s just a really good friend who makes me feel safe’.”

Mel B has known McPhee for two decades after meeting through her cousin, the actor Christian Cooke.

McPhee proposed at Cliveden House in Berkshire, and of the engagement ring, Mel B said: “He designed it all by himself, then kept it hidden in his sock drawer for three months. I still can’t believe he managed to hold a secret like that for so long.”

She added that the proposal happened in their hotel room. “We went for a walk around the grounds with the dogs before dinner and on the way back, Rory suddenly said, ‘I’m going to go back to the room and put the fire on’,” she explained.

“I didn’t think anything of it, but I did get this funny feeling in my stomach. Then, as I walked through the door, he got down on one knee.”

McPhee added: “I was so nervous, my lips were trembling. I’d spent ages writing down all these things I wanted to say, but when it came to it, I just babbled.”

Additional reporting by PA