Spices Girls singer Mel C has revealed the unexpected way she met her Australian boyfriend.
The Sporty Spice, whose real name is Melanie Chisholm, appeared on Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne’s Life Uncut podcast on Friday, where she revealed for the first time how her romance with Chris Dingwall began.
‘Nobody knows this, but we actually met on Raya,’ the 51-year-old confessed.
The singer admitted that after her last relationship ended, she was reluctant to ‘meet anyone ever again’.
However, she eventually joined the exclusive dating app after friends urged her to ‘get back out there’ during a boozy girls’ night.
‘So that’s when the Raya profile was set up. So, we’re on this thing, which is really good fun.’
Mel C (pictured) has revealed the unexpected way she met her Australian boyfriend
The Spice Girl appeared on Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne’s Life Uncut podcast on Friday where she shared for the first time how her romance with Chris Dingwall began. (Pictured: Chris Dingwall and Melanie Chisholm)
The pop star added: ‘We used to call it boy bingo, so we’d go through and see if there were any hotties on there, see what celebrities you could spot, which is always fun.’
And then she matched with Aussie model Chris.
Mel, who was in London when she swiped right on the Sydneysider, was preparing to head out on a DJ tour Down Under.
‘I thought, “He’s really cute. This is worth pursuing”.
‘So I came over – it was November 2023 – and we went out for dinner,’ she shared.
The Spice Girl landed in Sydney at seven o’clock in the morning and powered through the day before their first date that night, joking it was either ‘commitment or desperation.’
‘He booked this restaurant; it was hard to get into. So, I was like, I don’t want to let the dude down and we’ve been together ever since. So that’s the story, which I’ve never actually told.’
Melanie gushed over her Aussie man, saying: ‘He’s just a real gentle soul. He’s one of those people that doesn’t get all up in your business. He’s quietly in the sidelines, being uber supportive, and he’s wonderful.’
Mel C has previously revealed that she was banned from dating in the early days of the Spice Girls – while her bandmates were free to pursue romances (Pictured L-R: Mel C, Emma Bunton, Mel B, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham nee Adams)
Mel finally went public with her new man last year after months of speculation about their romance.
She’s known for keeping her love life largely out of the spotlight, but previously revealed she was banned from dating in the early days of the Spice Girls – while her bandmates were free to pursue romances.
‘Looking back what struck me was it was one rule for one and another for the others, right?’ she previously said.
‘I think when you are vulnerable as well, people go, I don’t think it’s good for you’.
Mel said the rule for the other women was, ‘she is fine, she can have a boyfriend, she can cope with having a boyfriend, she is strong enough but you are not’.
‘It makes you question yourself when you are already vulnerable,’ Mel added.
