Melanie C has bravely spoken about her battle with an eating disorder, as she said her Spice Girls success was "joyless" because of her secret illness.
The 48-year-old popstar opened up about having "an element of guilt" attached to her fame, as she dealt with her mental health struggles while "living my dream" at the same time.
The girl band was formed in 1994 and quickly shot to global fame. When the band peaked in the late 90s, Mel C was struggling with her weight behind the scenes.
During a chat on The Diary of a CEO podcast, she said the catalyst for her eating disorder was a comment made by one of the group's financial backers.
"He'd commented on the size of my thighs which was something that really shook me.
"I went to a performing arts college which was predominantly a dance college and the body image was an issue there. There were girls with eating disorders, I'd been witness to that in my life, but it never affected me personally."
She said she had put weight on after moving away from home for college, but added that it had never bothered her before.
"It was just, 'Yeah I'll cut back a little bit, lose a few pounds,' but somebody actually commenting on the way I looked when I was going into a career where so much of it is about how you look really affected me," Mel added.
The singer elaborated: "That was the catalyst for me. It was like a wake-up call.
"I thought, 'Well if I'm gonna do this I have to fit the mould,' and so then that was it. It was just a gradual thing, but it was the eating and the exercising and that's when it began from a comment like that."
Mel said her time with the Spice Girls was "incredible", but added that it was also the hardest.
"It was the most incredible time of my life and the hardest.
"And as much as I enjoyed it, it was joyless because I had a secret and I was dealing with what I had to deal with and living my dream at the same time," she told host Steven Bartlett.
During her time on the podcast, Mel said her feelings of guilt were made worse by people telling it was her fault for putting herself in the public eye.
The songstress eventually sought help from her GP who helped her overcome her poor mental health.
*For help and support on eating disorders contact Beat Eating Disorders on 0808 801 0677.
