Mel C reveals eating disorder battle at the peak of her Spice Girls fame inspired her new song

Her rise to stardom as part of the hugely successful group Spice Girls in the nineties was stratospheric.

But Melanie C has now revealed that the lead track on her new solo album, Who I Am, was inspired by her battle with an eating disorder, which developed at the peak of her fame.

The 46-year-old candidly told Stellar Magazine: ‘I started exercising obsessively, I stopped eating properly, and I began to become very, very ill.’ 

‘I became very ill’: Melanie C, 46, has now revealed that the lead track on her new solo album, Who I Am, was inspired by her battle with an eating disorder, which developed at the peak of her fame

Melanie explained that she grew up as a ‘confident and ambitious’ child – but that all changed when her image was constantly scrutinised as part of the Spice Girls.

She revealed that it was around the millennium when she began feeling ‘low’ and struggled to get out of bed, despite her jam-packed schedule.

Melanie continued: ‘I was really worried for my sanity. I was binge-eating, as well. I went to my doctor, and he said to me, “The first thing you need to address is your depression”, and I never thought for one second that I could be depressed.’

Tough journey: Melanie explained that she grew up as a ‘confident and ambitious’ child – but that all changed when her image was constantly scrutinised as part of the Spice Girls [Pictured in their 1996 single, Wannabe]

When she realised she was suffering from depression, that’s when Melanie’s ‘road to recovery began’.

Addressing the lyrics on her new single, ‘When I look in the mirror, I finally like what I see’, the mother-of-one noted she had come a long way in her journey of self-acceptance.

‘I’ve come to realise that I shouldn’t regret anything. I should be proud because I survived that and that’s what compels me to share it with people,’ she said.

Road to recovery: She revealed that it was around the millennium when she began feeling ‘low’ and struggled to get out of bed. She was told she was suffering from depression by her doctor 

The singer, who was dubbed Sporty Spice because of her athletic style, combated her depression through a mixture of therapies, acupuncture and medication.

In the same interview, Mel promised that the Spice Girls will finally tour Australia next year.

Mel was in Australia in early March to play the Big Gay Day festival.

‘I’m proud’: Addressing the lyrics on her new single, ‘When I look in the mirror, I finally like what I see’, the mother-of-one [L] noted she had come a long way in her journey of self-acceptance