Begin Again Moments: Melanie C's Love Story!

In this uplifting episode of Begin Again Moments, Melanie C shares the love story she never expected to find. After ending a long-term relationship, the Spice Girl turned solo artist found herself navigating dating apps for the very first time. She opens up about meeting her partner, Chris, the calm and safety he brought into her life, and how finding love in her 50s has transformed the way she lives. From being a self-confessed workaholic to discovering joy beyond her career, Melanie reflects on why she's happier, more confident and more creative than ever before. She also shares why it's never too late to start something new, embracing new challenges, finding love later in life, and redefining what happiness looks like. To hear the full conversation, watch the complete episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 0:29Speaker 01

  In the past two and a half years, I have ended a relationship. I have met somebody new.

• 0:36Speaker 02

  Can't wait to talk about that, so excited.

• 0:37Speaker 01

  Yes, yes. And I have new management and a lot has changed. So it's just been this kind of voyage of discovery.

• 0:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 0:48Speaker 01

  And I am having, and also my new partner, what he has done for me is he's made me live. I've always had, I'm such a alcoholic, but I've always gone work, life. And then I realised it's like work, life. So, and I love my work. And you know, of course, I'm a mum as well on top of everything. So what I've realised is, no, no, no, no, no. Work, life, all together. That felt like a little moment from like a Ben Stiller movie then.

• 1:22Speaker 02

  But that is, that is absolutely right.

• 1:26Speaker 01

  Isn't it? Because I love my work. And before I didn't really have much of a life.

• 1:31Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:32Speaker 01

  You know, I've been quite isolated and I've been quite lonely. But now it's like, no, I'm living. I'm living every day. And I'm, I'm just, I'm the happiest I've ever been. I'm the most creative I've ever been, the most confident I've ever been. And yeah.

• 1:47Speaker 02

  Isn't it funny? Because in your twenties, you would have been going, I will not be saying that in my fifties.

• 1:53Speaker 01

  Oh no, oh my gosh. Like I think it's so funny when you're like, you see things.

• 1:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:58Speaker 01

  I think there's even like interviews going, oh god. Like when you're in your thirties, you're like, oh, if only.

• 2:04Speaker 02

  But not if only, because would you go back?

• 2:07Speaker 01

  Hell, no. And it's changing. You know, here I am, making music.

• 2:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 2:13Speaker 01

  I'm in my 50s. There are so many incredible women who are, you know, we are still being taken seriously.

• 2:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 2:18Speaker 01

  In areas that in the past, maybe not. So, yeah, we're still changing things.

• 2:24Speaker 02

  I'm very, I'm very interested in women with power. And I, and I'm not just talking about money, really. I'm just talking about a sense of self or confidence. And how hard that is sometimes for a man to navigate. And how hard it is sometimes for women who are like that to meet men and for men not to.

• 2:51Speaker 02

  For men to know what to do with them.

• 2:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:53Speaker 02

  Because I don't want to slag off men. We love men. We want, we want to.

• 2:59Speaker 02

  We want to live side by side, be partners, equals like. But we know that it's quite difficult sometimes because we've gone off and gone.

• 3:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:09Speaker 02

  Careers.

• 3:09Speaker 01

  All empowered.

• 3:10Speaker 02

  All empowered.

• 3:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. And left them a little bit.

• 3:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, but well, we need to kind of help them.

• 3:15Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:16Speaker 02

  Find themselves too, you know, so we can all come together.

• 3:18Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 3:20Speaker 02

  And I feel like it's really difficult for guys to go out with women who are. Quite so. How hard is it for you, Melanie C, when you find, when you found yourself?

• 3:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:31Speaker 02

  At times, single? Because who do you trust?

• 3:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:33Speaker 02

  How do you, how do you meet a guy? Like, what do you do?

• 3:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. It, it's been interesting. So, yeah, I was with my daughter's dad for 10 years. And then, then I met somebody else. We were together for quite a while. And then I found myself single for the first time when it was all about the apps. And that is like a whole new world.

• 3:55Speaker 02

  But just, you're Melanie C. Like, you can't go on an app. Like, imagine swiping.

• 4:03Speaker 01

  Well, there's the one, isn't there? There's the one all the celebrities go on.

• 4:07Speaker 02

  Right.

• 4:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, there's that one.

• 4:09Speaker 02

  So can I just ask you?

• 4:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:10Speaker 02

  So is Raya like, is it chock a block of celebrities? Do you have to kind of get like green lit to go on it?

• 4:16Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 4:16Speaker 02

  I love that.

• 4:17Speaker 01

  It is. It's actually really good fun. Not that I ever want to be on it again.

• 4:22Speaker 02

  Did you have it? There was quite a, I read somewhere there was a really funny nickname that you and your friends had. It was.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  Oh, boy bingo.

• 4:31Speaker 01

  But it's such a good thing, don't you find, right, so, excuse me. When you, if you find yourself single, right, you're like, never want a relationship, ever again.

• 4:41Speaker 02

  No.

• 4:41Speaker 01

  I'm off men, forget it.

• 4:42Speaker 02

  And I think women actually can do that. I think men can't as much. I would have been happy to be a spinster.

• 4:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:50Speaker 02

  Alone.

• 4:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:50Speaker 02

  I'd just have a lot of cats.

• 4:52Speaker 01

  But isn't it usually a girl's night?

• 4:54Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:55Speaker 01

  When you're like, you need to get back on the horse and then the apps, then the profile set up.

• 5:01Speaker 02

  Which is a euphemism, need to get back on the horse.

• 5:05Speaker 01

  Set up anything less.

• 5:10Speaker 01

  So, yeah, so that was really interesting and fun. Yeah, Ray, it is, there's a lot of celebrities, there's a lot of people who isn't, it's all creative industries. But it is quite fun going, oh, guess who we saw today?

• 5:21Speaker 02

  And how long were you on there for, before you found Chris?

• 5:24Speaker 01

  Um, oh, that's everyone, he knows, no?

• 5:29Speaker 02

  An Aussie.

• 5:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:30Speaker 02

  Right, like, I'm an honorary Aussie, like, my entire family live there.

• 5:34Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, I love it, Australian.

• 5:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, great.

• 5:36Speaker 01

  Great, great people.

• 5:38Speaker 02

  Great people.

• 5:38Speaker 01

  As well. Um, gosh, I don't know, maybe about six months.

• 5:42Speaker 02

  Right.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  And then we met, and it was so funny, because.

• 5:44Speaker 02

  How long were you talking? Did you talk much before you met?

• 5:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, so we, we started talking, I think it was at August time, and I had a DJ tour arranged for the November of that year, 2023, I think it was. And, uh, yeah, so it was like, it is, he's so hot, this is definitely worth dinner, you know? And we've been together ever since, our first dinner date.

• 6:06Speaker 02

  And what was it, so you were talking?

• 6:11Speaker 02

  Because I know that there is a running theme through your life of needing to feel safe.

• 6:19Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 6:24Speaker 02

  And for me, I think that's like, a relationship is somewhere, that it's quite hard to really, really feel safe. What was it about Chris that made him safe enough to go out for dinner with? It's not just that he's hot, you must have seen something in him. What did you see?

• 6:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, he has, it's very strange talking about him publicly, he has a very calm quality.

• 6:49Speaker 02

  Right.

• 6:50Speaker 01

  And it's something that I've not experienced in a partner before. He's, yeah, he just, he feels safe. He is, yeah, he's just beautiful. He never gets involved where, you know, he just reads situations really well.

• 7:09Speaker 02

  So he's emotionally intelligent?

• 7:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, he's really intelligent, he's very creative, he's very kind, and yeah, he just, yeah, he makes me feel safe. That's a very good way of putting it.

• 7:22Speaker 02

  He, also, I think, as somebody that works in a creative industry, and you get to do some very exciting things, I know sometimes that people, if they don't feel confident in their partner, or that their partner's kind of proud of them, or whatever, they'll downplay things that are happening to them. But he's a cheerleader, right?

• 7:46Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, absolutely. That's what's so nice. He's been to a lot of my work engagements, and you know, sometimes if I'm DJing, and if I just catch sight of him, it's just like, it's, yeah, it's like your little support network. It's really nice.

• 8:01Speaker 02

  Now, I love being Michael's plus one. So I love going to things where I go as, he's the one that's been invited.

• 8:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:12Speaker 02

  And I'm his plus one. Do you get that?

• 8:14Speaker 01

  Well, it's been a bit tricky for us to really be able to do that. Because we've been in Europe a lot.

• 8:21Speaker 02

  Right.

• 8:22Speaker 01

  And a lot of his world is still, like, his friends and his family and everybody is still in Australia. But we go back New Year, and I look forward to being his plus one. It's nice being someone's plus one. It's less pressure, isn't it?

• 8:35Speaker 02

  Oh, it's so good.

• 8:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:37Speaker 02

  And also... You get to see them in their

• 8:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:43Speaker 02

  place of excellence.

• 8:44Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 8:45Speaker 02

  And you can be like, look at them, they're so hot, like, they're so good at what they do, like, oh, so nice.

• 8:51Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 8:52Speaker 02

  It's, you know, Australia, England, I know this because half my family are there, it's quite a long way away.

• 8:57Speaker 01

  It's a long way away. The law is, it's very kind, actually, obviously, being Commonwealth. He can spend a lot of time here, but he can't stay here permanently.

• 9:08Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, we need to look at these.

• 9:09Speaker 02

  So you just have to look at kind of to-ing and fro-ing a bit.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Add up our days.

• 9:12Speaker 02

  I can think of worse places.

• 9:15Speaker 01

  Yes, I know.

• 9:16Speaker 02

  To go to.

• 9:16Speaker 01

  But what's wonderful as well is, I'm back in Australia for, like, I'm doing The Voice, I don't know, this will probably be, yeah, announced by then.

• 9:25Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 9:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, doing The Voice again next year.

• 9:27Speaker 02

  Amazing, and how nice is that fun, being a coach?

• 9:30Speaker 01

  Um, it's, it's not my most natural place to be. I love working with singers.

• 9:39Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 9:39Speaker 01

  Um, I love, like, you know, sharing my experience with them, but the whole judging thing, I find tricky.

• 9:45Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 9:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:47Speaker 02

  Oh, your intention.

• 9:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:50Speaker 02

  Good.

• 9:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:51Speaker 02

  So judging, very, very.

• 9:52Speaker 01

  Yes, hard, it's hard.

• 9:54Speaker 02

  Oh, love you.

• 9:57Speaker 02

  You know, you've got a lot going on, and this is, this is something that, again, for our audience, you know, you are in your 50s, and it's so inspiring to see someone, you know, you did your DJing. You've talked about the humility of starting from scratch and not being able to even get on a set of decks in a club until you were ace. You know, the work that went into that.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:23Speaker 02

  The time, and.

• 10:25Speaker 01

  The jeopardy.

• 10:26Speaker 02

  But the jeopardy, but this is really important for everybody to see.

• 10:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:31Speaker 02

  If you want to do something.

• 10:32Speaker 01

  Oh, just do it.

• 10:32Speaker 02

  It's never too late.

• 10:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's never too late, that's what I thought, because when, you know, Glyn Fussell.

• 10:38Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, so it was Glyn that encouraged me to have a lesson, and I was just like, am I too old to learn a new skill? And, oh my goodness, absolutely never, I'm so pleased that I did it. Honestly, it has brought so much into my life, it's changed everything.

• 10:55Speaker 02

  And everybody else's, you know.

• 10:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:57Speaker 02

  The church and the altar of the DJ. So this, this podcast, I'm not sure if you knew this, but I started it at around the time when I had my brain tumor and I knew, but nobody else really knew.

• 11:12Speaker 01

  Oh, wow.

• 11:13Speaker 02

  Um, but when it was like, what, what would you like it to be about? Lots of people thought maybe it would be around the menopause and, and sort of perimenopause, menopause. But I wanted it to be around living a life that you've loved. So that when you do look at dying and your own mortality, and it becomes quite a possibility that you feel ready to leave.

• 11:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:42Speaker 02

  Because you've had a really good go.

• 11:44Speaker 01

  You've done all the things.

• 11:46Speaker 02

  That you wanted to.

• 11:47Speaker 01

  But isn't.

• 11:47Speaker 02

  Even if they didn't succeed.

• 11:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:49Speaker 02

  You've had a go.

• 11:51Speaker 01

  And isn't that the thing that people often will say? You don't regret the things you did. You regret the things you didn't do.

• 11:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 11:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:58Speaker 02

  So let's just talk about, is it 30 years next year?

• 12:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. I know, I know, I know.

• 12:06Speaker 02

  30 years.

• 12:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:08Speaker 02

  Of Spice Girls next year and the release of Sweat.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:12Speaker 02

  It's a big year.

• 12:13Speaker 01

  It's a big year coming.

• 12:15Speaker 02

  I am really excited.

• 12:16Speaker 01

  And I'm so excited too.

• 12:18Speaker 02

  I am coming to see you DJ a lot. I'm gonna now start like following you around the world.

• 12:22Speaker 01

  I will let you know everywhere I'm gonna be.

• 12:23Speaker 02

  Everywhere.

• 12:24Speaker 01

  And also.

• 12:25Speaker 02

  I'm getting on a plane. I'm coming.

• 12:27Speaker 01

  And I'm playing Brixton. It's not until October next year.

• 12:29Speaker 02

  That's my birthday. Okay. So that you understand the premise of this podcast now?

• 12:35Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:36Speaker 02

  30 years next year.

• 12:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:38Speaker 02

  Sweat. Everything's happening for you. Like it's so exciting.

• 12:44Speaker 02

  What would you like your legacy to be?

• 12:50Speaker 01

  I.

• 12:52Speaker 01

  Could die happy because I know the legacy that the Spice Girls have left is, I don't think you could top it.

• 13:01Speaker 02

  No.

• 13:02Speaker 01

  I am so proud, we are all proud, we talk about it. What we, you know, people approach me all the time. I get people coming up talking about whether it's a song, an album, the Spice Girls, the whole thing. And people say how it changed their life, how it made them feel like they belonged. You know, some people say it saved their life, you know, for people to say that to you. And I, I don't take that personally. I'm like, hey, I did this, but I was part of something that has made a real cultural impact on the world. How many people get the chance to say that? It's amazing.

• 13:38Speaker 02

  And also how you share, like, this has been an amazing chat.

• 13:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:43Speaker 02

  And there's been so much that you've said that I know will have an enormous impact on people watching and listening.

• 13:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:50Speaker 02

  And I, I'm so grateful to you for your honesty and being so candid.

• 13:56Speaker 01

  Well, you know, I, I learnt, when I first started talking openly about depression, it was at a time when it wasn't spoken about very much. And I didn't feel like I was really ready to talk about it because I was still actually really suffering at the time. But the moment I realised that was helping other people, that felt really good.