Melanie "Mel C" Chisholm (52) has gotten married. The singer, who became famous as Sporty Spice, said "I do" to Australian model and writer Chris Dingwall on Saturday at a country house in Cumbria in the Lake District. This makes her the last of the five Spice Girls to walk down the aisle.
Her wedding dress bore a prominent signature: Victoria Beckham (52) designed the simple, floor-length dress with an open back for her former bandmate. The bride also held a bouquet of wildflowers in her hand, as the "Mail on Sunday" reported. However, the designer herself was absent from the ceremony.
Victoria Beckham Was at the World Cup
"It was a gift from Victoria, the two of them are really close. Victoria would have loved to be there," the British Sunday newspaper quotes a source close to the singer. Beckham is currently in the United States with husband David (51), where the English team secured third place against France in the so-called third-place playoff of the World Cup on Saturday night (Central European Time). The plans for this had been set for a long time, it is said. From afar, she sent her best wishes to her friend.
The other Spice Girls, however, were on site: Emma Bunton (50), Melanie Brown (51), and Geri Halliwell-Horner (53) celebrated along. The latter arrived at the venue together with her husband Christian Horner (52). Chisholm's 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship served as bridesmaid.
A Herd of Cows Caused Excitement
A brief moment of alarm was caused by, of all things, the neighbors: While the couple was exchanging their vows, a herd of cows from an adjacent farm ran onto the property. Some guests are said to have been alarmed.
Otherwise, the day apparently went exactly as the couple had wished. A small, low-key celebration had been the plan. Grand gestures aren't really the singer's thing anyway. The estate in the county of Cumbria belongs to West End performer Ben Forster (45), with whom Chisholm appeared on stage in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 2013.
Met Via Dating App
Chisholm and Dingwall, who is reportedly in his 40s, met in 2023 through the celebrity dating app Raya. According to reports, the fact that the singer even created a profile was thanks to the persuasive efforts of her friends. Thousands of miles initially separated London and Sydney, but an upcoming DJ tour through Australia helped facilitate their meeting. The couple made their relationship public in 2024.
As recently as January, Chisholm had told the "Times" that marriage had never been part of her life plan, but she was so happy with Dingwall that it might happen after all. Her album "Sweat," she said at its release in May, had been fueled by heartbreak and the excitement of a new relationship. She described her partner to the "Telegraph" as relaxed and entertaining, and said they also work out together.
The musician has recently spoken openly on multiple occasions about being single for so long. On the "Louis Theroux Podcast," she called being single a major theme of her adult life. At the height of Spice Girls fame in the late 1990s, her colleagues were already in relationships, while she was often the only one without a partner.
