Mel C reveals real reason Victoria Beckham didn't return for Spice Girls' reunion tour

Mel C has shared the real reason why Victoria Beckham did not return for the Spice Girls' reunion tour in 2019 – and no, it had nothing to do with a girlband feud. 

Sporty Spice has opened up about Victoria Beckham's absence from the Spice World reunion tour in a new interview, admitting that the other members of the iconic British pop group were "sad" to return to the stage without her. 

Melanie Chisholm appeared on the podcast, The Diary of a CEO, earlier this week, to discuss her upcoming book, Who I Am, and reflect on her incredible experience of being one-fifth of the world's most successful ever girl band. The in-depth conversation comes shortly after Mel C revealed she 'buried' trauma of sexual assault before her first Spice Girls gig, recalling how she "didn't want to make a fuss" as there were "other things to focus on."   

The 47-year-old has now talked candidly about the Spice Girls' reunion tour, Spice World, which took place in the UK and Ireland in the summer of 2019. The highly-anticipated concerts were famously missing Victoria Beckham, who declined to take part because of personal reasons. The shows went on with Mel C, Emma Bunton, Mel B, and Geri Halliwell, and ultimately became the pop group's most successful tour. 

Speaking to The Diary a CEO host, Steven Bartlett, Mel C shared more details on why Posh Spice didn't return for the critically-acclaimed reunion. 

"On a more personal level, and I think this has been said, I don't think she'd mind me saying...When we did the Olympics in 2012, she had a really hard time. She was petrified," the singer explained. "She had a lot of anxiety about that performance." 

The Spice Girls rocked the London stage at the 2012 Summer Olympics with a medley of their hit songs, Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life, bringing '90s nostalgia to people all over the world for the epic closing ceremony of the iconic games. Despite Victoria having since referred to the performance as one of the 'proudest' moments of her career, the pressure of being back in the spotlight was seemingly too much for the English fashion mogul to manage.  

"She was like, 'You know what girls, I'm putting my dancing shoes up,'" Mel C explained. "We respected her decision. We were still sad about it. But we went on to have the most successful tour we've ever done, sadly without her."