Former Ginger Spice Girl Geri Halliwell‘s perfect life has suddenly exploded like a Formula 1 car careering into the barriers out of control.
One moment, she’s self-appointed Queen of Formula 1 – a role she relished as wife of the multi-millionaire boss of the Red Bull team Christian Horner. Now she’s a nobody after Horner’s dramatic dismissal from his job this week.
She set her eye on Horner back in 2009 after they were introduced by F1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone. By 2014 Horner had left his wife Beverley after 14 years together. This was just six months after Beverley had given birth to their longed-for child.
Another year on, and Geri was marrying Horner – whose parents were reportedly so appalled by the union and by his treatment of Beverley that they refused to attend the wedding.
No matter. Geri was, it seems, where she wanted to be – the chatelaine of two grand manor houses, one in Oxfordshire, the other in Hertfordshire. She had home gyms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, farmland, boating lakes, horses, goats and chickens.
And she was ruling the society roost on the FI circuit, as if to the manor born. A far remove from the Watford council estate where she grew up.
Now her husband’s out of his job of 20 years, in ‘shock’ over his dismissal, she’s no longer the queen bee – and I feel not a shred of sympathy for either of them.
Although Red Bull will not confirm it, his departure has been linked to behaviour that could not have been more humiliating for Geri – a sexting scandal last year in which he allegedly shared inappropriate messages with a junior employee.
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and her husband Christian Horner. Horner has been sacked from his CEO role at Red Bull
Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner got married in 2015 at St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire
He was twice cleared of the claims, firstly after an internal investigation by a lawyer, then by another lawyer who dismissed the complainant’s appeal, and she stood by him.
But the nudge-nudge rumours still surround the oh-so perfect Halliwell-Horner marriage.
After all, what kind of married man finds himself caught up in a sexting scandal with a work colleague?
But then, what kind of man leaves a wife just six months after she’s given birth to their child?
And how must Geri – the former Spice Girl who built her brand on girl power, love and friendship to all women – have felt about her husband’s treatment of Beverley?
The joyful couple even posted their forthcoming nuptials in the Times newspaper, gloating that Mr CEJ Horner OBE and Miss GE Halliwell were engaged.
One can only imagine the pain that would have caused the former Mrs Horner, the anguish she’d have suffered feeling she’d been abandoned to be replaced by a vacuous, social climbing Ginger Spice Girl.
Tragically, it has just emerged that Beverley, 58, died recently after suffering from cancer – which makes the story all the more poignant.
In a recent interview, Halliwell spoke of her and Horner’s millionaire life together, saying: ‘We walk dogs together, we’re very much old-school and family focused.’
I wonder how poor Beverley would have felt had she read Geri’s words. Because Horner tore her dreams of a family apart.
Kim’s Taylor made 
Kim Kardashian steps out in Paris after closing Demna’s final Balenciaga haute couture show
Surgically enhanced and curvaceous Kim Kardashian pays homage to her heroine Elizabeth Taylor on the Paris catwalk, wearing an ivory slip inspired by the Hollywood goddess’s role in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof along with the actress’s own $375,000 diamond earrings. The difference is that Taylor’s legendary hour-glass figure – tiny waist, bouncy buttocks and fulsome breasts – was all her own, rather than bought.
A Durham University study concludes Coldplay are the most boring band in the world after comparing Chris Martin (100million albums and sold-out tours) with Kirsty MacColl (390,000 albums) and Patsy Cline (15million). What humbug! Why are our universities paid to engage in such nonsense. I’m thinking their nerds are just Yellow with envy.
Misled by memoirs
The row over best-selling book The Salt Path is not the first memoir to leave readers feeling betrayed. Another that sold millions of copies – Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – was also made into a movie, starring Julia Roberts as Liz. After a divorce, our heroine gorged her way through a feast of hot Italian men and finally found love with a divine man she met in Bali, played by Javier Bardem. Then, after the film was released, Gilbert came out as a lesbian!
Westminster Wars
- The PM’s much vaunted migrant crisis deal with President Macron means France will take back 50 illegals a week, 2,600 a year. A record 44,000 have arrived here since Labour took power, hundreds of them last weekend. Starmer’s Chancellor isn’t the only one way out of her depth and drowning.
- After the Government caved in over the benefits reform bill that would have saved £5 billion, those on sickness benefits – many of whom, let’s be honest, are fraudsters milking the system – will soon be paid £2,500 more than those on the minimum wage. Surely it’s now time for a confidential dob-in-a-scrounger hotline.
The new Superman movie, starring the relatively unknown actor David Corenswet, gets a mixed reception. It’s hardly surprising as the franchise never really recovered after the most famous ‘faster than a speeding bullet’ Superman Christopher Reeve was crippled in a horse riding accident, then died aged 52. His immortal words still linger: ‘It was Krypton that made me Superman, but it’s earth that makes me human.’
Research shows the seaside, not some rainy place we went camping, stirs up the fondest memories. As testimony to that, revisiting this year the beach where I spent so much time with my late mum and dad, it was like watching an old movie. I swear I could almost reach out and touch them.
Queen’s lesson for Rigid Macron 
First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, left and Queen Camilla travel to Windsor Castle
What was going on with Brigitte Macron during the State visit? She seemed to be sucking on a lemon filled with wasps. Pictured with Camilla in a carriage at Windsor, France’s First Lady, 72, made the Queen, 77, look like her sprightly younger sister. Maybe a happy marriage is Camilla’s secret.
Masterchef’s sacked cheeky chappy Gregg Wallace says he couldn’t wear underwear because of his autism which is why he inadvertently flashed himself to contestants. Sorry Gregg, I worked with loads of men clearly on the spectrum and was never once presented with their underparts in the workplace.
Falling out with the in-laws
Millions are captivated by my colleague Guy Adams’ reports about Aussie Mushroom Murderer Erin Patterson. Maybe it struck a chord because many of us, at some time, have wanted to murder our in-laws. Admittedly, we’d just ghost them on social media – but most of us aren’t psychopaths.
The BBC finally got rid of Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker on his £1.35million salary, but we now learn washed-up Wayne Rooney has been given an £800,000, two-year pundit contract – even though he can’t string a sentence together. Another own goal Auntie!
TENNIS legend Martina Navratilova was refused entry into The Ivy Café in Wimbledon as she insisted on bringing her mini dachshund Lulu into the restaurant, which has a no-dog policy. Quite right. Not even we dog-lovers want to share our meal with a mutt, whining for food or, worse, jumping on the seat next to us with its smelly breath.