The Spice Girls were all about sisterhood and "girl power," but it seems that there was some drama behind the scenes, and it almost cost one of them a spot in the legendary group.
While appearing on BBC's Desert Island Discs, Melanie "Mel C" Chisholm detailed a fight with Victoria Beckham at the 1996 Brit Awards that still resonates with her.
"This is a funny story," she said. "I was so hurt and embarrassed about the situation, I only started talking about it recently, but it's actually really funny … we were at the Brits and we all had a few [drinks] and on the way out there was a little scuffle between me and Victoria. We can't say this on air but I asked her to go away and I was told if that behavior ever happened again I'd be out."
While she didn't detail the fight, Mel said the idea of her not being in the group was "devastating."
"To think that I could have messed it up and lost it all, I begun to be really really hard on myself," she said. "I'm literally all putting this all together in my head now, my therapist would be very proud of me. I think that was the start of where some of my problems came, because I had to be very strict with myself, I couldn't allow myself to relax, because if I did I might mess it all up."
Mel C has been open about the friction within the group. Last year she indicated she was "bullied" in the group and was confused about her "Sporty Spice" label.
"I am sporty and athletic, but I am quite soft and gentle really," she said. "I was described as the plain one at the back that doesn't really do much, doesn't really say much. And that's really hurtful when you're a young, aspiring pop star. That really hurts. I tried to make myself perfect. I ended up making myself really ill. I was anorexic for a few years. I was exercising obsessively and I ended up being incredibly depressed."
It was actually a "relief" when she was diagnosed with depression.
"That was the beginning of my road to recovery," she said, "which took a really long time."
While the group has never "officially" broken up, they've all gone their separate ways, but they have reunited over the years, having performed at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. They also reunited last year — without Victoria — during their hugely successful tour.
"When we're together on that stage, we are formidable," Mel C said, "and we would kill for each other."