Pop music fans were in for a devastating surprise 25 years ago today: Geri ‘Ginger Spice’ Halliwell announced she would leave the Spice Girls after two years of the group’s domination on the charts and over popular culture.
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Recent rumors of a reunion have swelled in the Spice Girls camp, but around the Spring of 1998, ‘Spice World’ looked slightly different. The record-breaking girl group had been on top of the world since forming four years earlier and were in the middle of an international tour supporting their sophomore album “Spice World,” released a year earlier.
Halliwell, now 50, had reportedly been feeling down about her place in the band, which she would speak about extensively over the years.
Relations between the “Wannabe” hitmakers have been mended in the nearly three decades since Halliwell’s surprise exit, and she has since apologized for leaving the band. She has actively participated in a documentary, performances, and a 2019 world tour, but things weren’t so rosy between these gal pals in the Nineties!
Inside Halliwell’s Surprising Exit From The Spice Girls
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After the Spice Girls had appeared as a four-piece on The National Lottery, Halliwell’s people released a statement on May 31st revealing she had left the group.
“Sadly, I want to confirm I have left the Spice Girls. This is because of differences between us,” Halliwell’s statement began, “I’m sure the group will continue to be successful. I wish them all the best. I have no immediate plans. I wish to apologize to the fans and thank them and everyone there. I’ll be back,” it concluded. (via Official Charts)
According to an MTV News clip, host Kurt Loder touched on the growing speculation regarding Halliwell’s departure; the group had kept up a narrative about Halliwell being sick and unable to appear publicly or perform on tour.
Halliwell would later sit down with Barbara Walters to give her side.
“I have reasons why I left the Spice Girls,” Halliwell told Walters. “I could tell the world, you know, the ends and outs, but it’s like a marriage. I think, you know, you should keep that kind of thing private to a degree.” She would expand and say leaving “was just something I had to do.”
Nearly a decade later, Halliwell would expand on her ‘reasons.’
In the 2007 documentary “Spice Girls: Giving You Everything,” the “Look At Me” singer said, “I just felt like the band had got so big, and the girls were almost like they didn’t need me anymore really,” she continued. “I felt very redundant, like the wheels were turning whether I was there or not, it felt.” (per People)
Halliwell’s bandmates would share how they felt about her decision, their perspectives giving a sense of the atmosphere of the ‘Girl Power’ bubble at the time.
Victoria ‘Posh Spice’ Beckham revealed in her memoir “Learning To Fly,” published in the early ’00s, how shocked the band felt by Halliwell’s seemingly abrupt decision.
“Everyone has their theories,” she explained. “That there was some great row on the flight back from Helsinki. That we’d been hitting each other. The truth is that we’d all really laughed on that flight back… We didn’t know [why she took off]. Why she said that I have no idea; perhaps it made her look better because otherwise, it was like admitting she left us in the lurch. Which, of course, was exactly what she did. Geri Halliwell left us in the lurch,” Beckham said. (per Yahoo!)
Halliwell Apologized For Leaving The Spice Girls In 2017!
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In 2017, Halliwell gave fans who were still heartbroken over her departure almost two decades later a bit of consolation: she formally apologized on Twitter!
The “Lift Me” singer responded to a tweet commemorating the event, writing, “I’m sorry about that… everything works out in the end, that’s what my mum says!” (per CNN)
Friendship has never ended for the Spice Girls; Melanie ‘Scary Spice’ Brown recently discussed reunion plans featuring all five women!
“We are going to be doing some stuff, all five of us, pretty soon, which will be announced.” Mel B said in an interview, adding, “There will be [a tour] if I have anything to do with it, yeah.” It sounds like Brown wants to ‘Zig-a-zig-ah!’ (via Sky News)
