{"id":238313,"date":"2025-07-04T20:30:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T20:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/238313\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T20:30:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T20:30:16","slug":"mel-b-wedding-one-spice-girl-confirms-attendance-as-three-absent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/238313\/","title":{"rendered":"Mel B wedding: One Spice Girl ‘confirms attendance’ as three absent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insiders open up about Mel B’s nuptials at St Paul’s Catherdral saying Rory McPhee is as \u201cun-showbiz as they come\u201d and the perfect match for the Spice Girl<\/p>\n

17:49, 04 Jul 2025Updated 18:02, 04 Jul 2025<\/p>\n

\"MelSo in love: Mel B and Rory McPhee (Image: GC Images)<\/p>\n

When Mel B<\/a> walks down the aisle at St Paul\u2019s Cathedral, friends believe it really will be third time lucky for the Spice Girl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 50-year-old, who has been married twice before, is tying the knot on Saturday <\/a>with hairstylist Rory McPhee, 37, who pals say is as \u201cun-showbiz as they come\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s why everyone thinks that they get on so well\u2026 and why he is so good for Melanie,\u201d says one confidante.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t come from that fake, entertainment world<\/a>. He is down to earth, family orientated and just a normal bloke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their connection runs deep, all the way to childhood. Mel\u2019s cousin Christian Cooke and Rory were friends at school, and he has \u201calways been on the outer edges of her life\u201d.<\/p>\n

The pal said: \u201cIt\u2019s why this is almost certainly going to be a happy ever after. It\u2019s as if the universe was just waiting for them to properly connect and fall in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘I partied hard with Diddy then he conned me with his fake gentleman act’<\/a>\"MelMel B with her fellow Spice Girls (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Other friends of the singer have described Rory, who works at his family run Leeds hair salon, as \u201cnot your typical alpha male\u201d that Mel has been attracted to in the past.<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cHe is humble, kind, cooks roast dinners for her\u2026 It\u2019s as far removed from her usual type that you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mel\u2019s previous marriage to Stephen Belafonte <\/a>broke down and she accused him of emotional and physical abuse, which he has always denied. Her first husband was Jimmy Gulzar.<\/p>\n

Last year she said of Rory: \u201cWhen I went back to England, he would come over and give me hair treatments… and as he was nurturing my curls back, I guess he was nurturing my trust and belief in a relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rory popped the question in October 2022 <\/a>at the Cliveden Hotel in Berkshire, after decking the room in flowers and going down on one knee.<\/p>\n

\"EmmaEmma Bunton is expected to attend(Image: Dave Benett\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Mel said: \u201cI was in my walking clothes, hair up in a bun,. And he did a whole spiel to me about me being his best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being awarded an MBE in 2022 for her services to charitable causes and vulnerable women meant the star was able to tie the knot at St Paul\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Mel, who eloped to Las Vegas to marry Stephen, says it will be a very different affair to her previous nuptials.<\/p>\n

She has said previously: \u201cThis will be a very formal, English wedding where I want to feel regal and very proper. All the ladies will wear hats or fascinators.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guest list has been a hot topic, not least about whether her Spice Girl bandmates would be on it.<\/p>\n

Insiders say Emma Bunton will be there with husband Jade Jones, but Mel C, Victoria Beckham<\/a> and Geri Horner<\/a> will not.<\/p>\n

Insiders say: \u201cVictoria loves Mel but sadly she will be out of the country, and wishes she could be there. Mel C too would have been there but she is on tour in Sweden. They have a great deal of affection for Melanie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria was keen to show that Mel was in her thoughts as she posted a picture of herself and Mel looking glamorous <\/a>at a recent event as she sent Rory and Mel best wishes.<\/p>\n

\"PoshPosh Spice sending his love to Mel(Image: victoriabeckham\/Instagram)<\/p>\n

The reason for Geri\u2019s absence is not known for sure, but she is said to have a more strained relationship with Mel than the others.<\/p>\n

Insiders say she was left mortified after Mel claimed on Piers Morgan<\/a>\u2019s Life Stories in 2019 that she was intimate with Geri while they were in the Spice Girls.<\/p>\n

Despite reports she was set to wear a wedding dress designed by Victoria, she has picked out two other gowns instead. One by British designer Josephine Scott for today and another by US bridal specialist Justin Alexander for a second wedding ceremony abroad in the next few weeks. Mel said: \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect blend of my love for Britain and America.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first ceremony, Mel will walk down to the aisle to an organ.<\/p>\n

Says the insider: \u201cMel wanted it to be all very traditional and very much in keeping with the classic surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple will say their vows in the crypt underneath the cathedral.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream that she is able to do so, and that her MBE opened the door for her,\u201d says a pal.<\/p>\n

As for the second ceremony, there are some suggestions it could be in Morocco.<\/p>\n

Says our insider: \u201cThis will be a smaller, more relaxed affair with a less starry guest-list and be more family orientated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, however, the guest-list is distinctly A-list with pop svengalis Simon Cowell<\/a> and Simon Fuller expected to make an appearance.<\/p>\n

Mel\u2019s\u2019 children Phoenix, 26, Angel, 18, and Madison, 13, will all be there, and are smitten with Rory.<\/p>\n

A source says: \u201cThere is a lot of love for him. He has slotted really easily into family life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Insiders open up about Mel B’s nuptials at St Paul’s Catherdral saying Rory McPhee is as \u201cun-showbiz as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[92792,31887,77,92794,31885,2704,1894,31889,29220,92793,16,15,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-238313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-christian-cooke","9":"tag-emma-bunton","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-jade-jones","12":"tag-mel-b","13":"tag-piers-morgan","14":"tag-simon-cowell","15":"tag-simon-fuller","16":"tag-spice-girls","17":"tag-stephen-belafonte","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-victoria-beckham"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114796864071239828","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}