Spice Girls ' Melanie C opened up about becoming anorexic during her band years and how her period stopped.
The band was formed in 1994 and the girls, including Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Horner, quickly rose to fame and took over the world with their pop hits.
However, during the late 90s, when the band peaked, Mel C was struggling with her weight behind the scenes.
During a chat on How To Fail with Elizabeth Day, Melanie recalled being body shamed at college but things never affected her until she joined the band.
"I think the stakes were raised and I had this idea of what I had to be in order to be in this band, to be a pop star. I started eliminating food groups and was very restrictive with my eating alongside doing more and more exercise, to the point of it, becoming extremely obsessive," she said.
"And that went on for years. I mean, that went on throughout the bulk of that time. I wasn't eating enough, I lost so much weight. I did become anorexic.
"And my period stopped. I always wanted to be a mum. And here I was unable to control this thing that could have jeopardised my fertility. but it was such a compulsion. I couldn't stop it.
During the band's early days, before they were properly formed, Mel C remembered their financial backer making a comment about the size of her thighs.
The women were in his back garden at the time and were discussing routines when Mel showed off her backflip.
"I was mortified. I'm not going to pinpoint that thing as what caused everything but it was the beginning of a thought process. I knew I had to lose weight, I started to question my eating habits and exercise habits."
Being written about constantly and being photographed added to it.
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She added that her body said 'no more' to the anorexia so she began eating more. However, she developed a binge-eating disorder.
Melanie opens up about all her struggles and achievements in her new memoir, Who I Am, which comes out on September 15.
The star also discusses her sexual assault as well as almost being kicked out of the band for a small comment she made.
Formed in 1994, the Spice Girls became the best-selling female group of all time.
They split in 2000 and have reunited for tours and TV appearances over the years and in November 2018 they announced a UK tour, without Victoria.
*For help and support on eating disorders contact Beat Eating Disorders on 0808 801 0677.
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