Geri Horner’s forgotten flings and poignant Robbie Williams hit she inspired

These days she goes by her married name of Geri Horner and lives a posh life in the country with her Formula 1 boss husband Chris Horner and her two kids.

But before settling down and losing her famous brash, Girl Power accent, Gezzer’s quest for lasting love saw her date a slew of showbiz blokes.

Not one to have a type, open-minded Geri – who turns 48 today – searched high and low for The One, and was linked to Virgin Radio host Chris Evans, Limp Bizkit rocker Fred Durst, comedian David Walliams, Blue’s Duncan James and, of course, Robbie Williams.

In honour of Ginger Spice’s birthday, Mirror Online takes a look back at the unlikely loves that almost were and the fall-outs from them…

Chris Evans

Back in 1999, he was the lord of the radio airwaves, she was a runaway Spice Girl, and together they made beautiful music.

With both sharing the same publicist, naysayers claimed the romance was a publicity stunt for Geri’s hit Lift Me Up, which was going head-to-head with Emma Bunton’s What I Am at the time.

Even his ex-wife Carole McGiffin smelled a rat, telling the Guardian: “It’s completely brilliant because Geri’s single will get to number one and Chris’s ratings will go up.

“They’ll hang out together for the next few weeks as they have been doing. They may well announce an engagement…

“Everybody wins. Then, when the media has gone completely mad, they’ll turn round to the bank of cameras and laugh their heads off at their own hilarious little prank. And it is hilarious because it is so obviously a joke.”

But the pair had been pals for a long time, with Chris said to have advised Geri on her decision to quit the band in May 1998.

However, their love story lasted a mere matter of months amid reports Chris didn’t want to be tied down.

And when the reunited Spice Girls were interviewed by Chris on Radio 2 in 2018, he joked that Geri’s driving skills had been to blame for the split.

“I know she’s not a good driver, that was one of our issues. I’m not joking. There were a few bumps on the road,” he laughed.

As for Geri, when once asked if their relationship was real, she said: “It was as authentic as relationships go, in my shabby experience of relationships.”

Robbie Williams

Tongues started wagging when Geri was spotted leaving the ex-Take That star’s house at 1am in July 2000 before they holidayed in France the following month.

The pair bonded over their mutual experiences of being the black sheep of a band, and Geri credited Robbie with helping her tackle an eating disorder and turn her life around.

“Robbie knew about my bulimia… he told me to go to rehab and that possibly saved my life,” she told Piers Morgan.

“I will always be grateful to him, always. I felt he was the only person on the planet who could understand me.”

Robbie even wrote his number one single, Eternity, about their bond but things reportedly went sour after a bitter row that prompted Robbie to cut Geri out of his documentary, Nobody Someday.

He later claimed she’d been too intense, apparently telling The Sun: “She turned into a demonic little girl playing with dolls and a tea set.

“It was around that time I realised our friendship wasn’t what I thought it was.”

Geri, however, always insisted “she “didn’t really go out with him”, while Robbie was forced to apologise in 2013 after joking that he’d rather have slept with Victoria Beckham.

He told News Corp: “I have to make weekly apologies. I’ve got a Tourette’s of things I wish I didn’t say.

“That’s one thing I wish I hadn’t said. It’s easy to get a cheap laugh.

“I’m very fond of Geri. She’s great company. Absolutely bonkers but really, really good company. I think fondly of her.”

Fred Durst

In March 2003, Geri enjoyed an on-screen flirt fest with the Limp Bizkit frontman on the Jimmy Kimmel Show in the US.

Then living in Los Angeles, Gez and Fred were spotted on a lunch date at the exclusive La Scala in Beverly Hills and apparently joked that they were “the new Fred and Ginger”.

But it didn’t last and Geri was soon pictured on the arms of another American hunk…

Jerry O’Connell

Jerry and Geri dated for a year, but his ex-girlfriend, E! News host Juliana Rancic, accused the actor of cheating on her in tell-all book, Going Off Script.

In an excerpt obtained by New York Post’s Page Six column, she wrote: “I was being two-timed for one of the lesser Spices?”

When she discovered his secret affair and confronted him, she said he simply told her: “Yeah, I know. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

It is not known whether or not Geri knew they were in a relationship at the time.

Giuliana was clearly less than impressed with Jerry’s response, penning: “He had as much emotion as the customer-service representative who tells you your bags missed the flight.”

And a source told The Sun Geri had grown tired of the Jerry Maguire actor’s antics.

“Jerry was too much of a fraternity boy – he was a real lad who liked to party. It just wasn’t Geri’s style,” the source said.

Duncan James

Blue star Duncan and Geri were first linked together in 2004 after presenting Party in the Park.

A series of dates followed before Duncan confided in Geri about his sexuality, making her one of the first people he ever told.

He told Gay Star News: “I used to fancy the pants off Geri. We went out on a few little dates, nothing serious. [Then] I told her I was gay…’

“I came out to Geri Halliwell, pretty much. She was one of the first people I came out to. How many people can say they came out to a Spice Girl?”

David Walliams

In 2008 Geri was said to be secretly dating Little Britain funnyman David, with sources claiming a long friendship had turned into romance.

“They have been secretly dating since the New Year and nobody knows. They are very tactile with each other and he’s such a gent,” the insider said.

“Geri just can’t stop smiling.”

But it all came crashing down after just six weeks amid reports that ‘astrology obsessed’ Geri didn’t like the fact they were both Leos, or that he was born in the year of the Pig while she was born in the year of the Rat. A big no, no apparently.

“She vets all men – she’ll work out their compatibility with astrological charts,” a source told Now magazine.

Russell Brand

Fresh from Russell’s divorce from Katy Perry, the yoga-loving stars are said to have hit it off at the Olympics Closing Ceremony.

They enjoyed a string of dates in 2012, including a trip to Hampton Court Palace with Geri’s daughter Bluebell, now 14.

And Geri admitted their romance had swept her off her feet, telling the Metro: “Yes. It’s been a whirlwind.

“All I want is to be in a loving relationship. Is he my ideal man? I’m choosy. I want someone who’s trustworthy, sweet and kind.”

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