Mel C reveals she developed an eating disorder and ‘exercised obsessively’ when she was in the Spice Girls

MEL C has revealed she developed an eating disorder and “exercised obsessively” when she was in the Spice Girls.

The 43-year-old singer said she thought she had to be “perfect” in order to be a pop star, which led to her struggling with her mental health.

Melanie, who went by the moniker Sporty Spice, was known for her athletic figure and sportswear style when the girl band were formed in 1996.

However, while they went on to achieve world-wide fame, Mel C says there was a dark side to being so famous.

She told : “I thought I had to be a certain way to be deserving of everything that was happening to me… to be a popstar I had to be perfect, and that was my way of trying to achieve perfection.

“I’d never starved myself, but I wasn’t eating properly and I was exercising obsessively and all of my time with the Spice Girls I think I was probably living on adrenaline.

“God only knows how I got through it and I think my body just got to the point where it was like – enough.”

Mel also opened up about how she was diagnosed with depression in 2000 and said she was “relieved” when the doctor told her what was wrong.

She treated it with medication, therapies and acupuncture.

While Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Horner were on board for a 20th anniversary concert, Mel C refused to be a part of the reunion and is currently on tour with a new album.

Mel C and Victoria Beckham also refused to give the go-ahead for a reality show to find their replacements.

Mel B, Geri and Emma Bunton had teased fans with a reunion of the three of them, titled GEM, but Victoria banned her former bandmates from performing the Spice Girls’ back catalogue at gigs.