THEIR charmed country life has led to nearly a decade of apparent marital bliss.
But Geri Horner was said to be “too upset” to talk to “anyone” this week after her F1 boss husband Christian was hit by allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”.
First introduced to each other by Bernie Ecclestone 15 years ago, the couple are worth an incredible £440million and have piled their fortune into two country manors – including 14 stables for their horses.
The former Spice Girl, who previously sweared off marriage, was steered down the aisle by the Red Bull Racing chief, who proposed following a whirlwind romance – despite having to Google her before their first date.
Their engagement hit an early road bump as Christian’s “devastated” parents refused to attend their wedding in 2015 after he moved on swiftly from ex Beverley Allen, whom he was with for 14 years.
Having put that crisis behind them, he will be hoping to weather another storm as he prepares for a ‘D-Day’ showdown with a lawyer tomorrow.
Read more on the Spice Girls
The 50-year-old is accused of “controlling behaviour” with a female work colleague, amid claims he could be gone by “next week” after “losing support” from the Red Bull team.
Sources say the investigation is set to centre on the employee’s concerns about Horner’s strict work regime and does not relate to any sexual impropriety.
The news has reportedly sent Geri, who is often seen cheering on her husband’s championship-winning team at Grand Prixs, into “full lockdown”.
But a source told the Mail: “She will stand by him and be at his side just as much as she always has been. She never misses a race and that will not change.”
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Whirlwind romance
Geri first met Christian through her F1 boss pal Bernie Ecclestone after he invited her to the Monaco Grand Prix in 2009.
Christian told the Telegraph: “(Geri) was a guest of (former CEO of the Formula One Group) Bernie Ecclestone’s in Monaco one year and came down the pit lane.
“I remember (McLaren boss) Ron Dennis was standing next to me and Eddie Jordan was there as well.
“She gave Ron a kiss on the cheek, and she gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek. So I thought, ‘OK, I’m on for a kiss on the cheek here!’ And I went to give her one and she shoved her hand out at me.”
At the time, Christian was with his former pub landlady partner Beverley Allen, and was stepdad to her two children, Kieron, 35, and Liam, 31.
The couple had dreamed of having a child of their own and in October 2013, Beverley gave birth to a daughter, Olivia.
Sadly, six months after the birth, the couple split and by March 2014, Christian had moved on with Geri.
I didn’t marry Geri because she’s a Spice Girl. I married her because I fell in love with her
Christian
Remarkably, it later emerged that the racing fanatic had never even heard of one of the Spice Girls’ biggest hits before their first date, according to the Mirror.
A source told the newspaper: “Before they went on their first date, Christian googled Geri – and found a video of her doing the song.
“Geri found it hilarious that he had to research her beforehand and the song has become a running joke.”
Christian later said: “I didn’t marry Geri because she’s a Spice Girl. I married her because I fell in love with her.”
In October 2014, the new couple announced their engagement in The Times newspaper. Christian proposed with an elegant diamond engagement ring thought to be worth almost £80,000.
Geri said her mother’s divorce had put her off getting married, but that everything had changed after she met Christian.
She explained: “The thing is my mother, she got divorced so it kind of put me off a bit if I’m honest and I hadn’t met anyone that I felt it was right (with) really.
“And when I met Christian, I automatically knew, I did, I actually said to my friend, ‘I think I’ve met the man I want to marry’.
They tied the knot in a stunning ceremony at St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire, in May 2015, with celebrity guests including fellow Spice Girl Emma Bunton, Amanda Holden and Myleene Klass.
Geri wore a dress by British designer Phillipa Lepley and belted out a solo performance of Wannabe in a cheeky nod to their first date at a reception on the grounds of Woburn Abbey after the wedding.
A look at Christian Horner’s life and career
CHRISTIAN Horner is among the most well-known names in Formula One having helped build Red Bull into one of the biggest teams in the sport.
1973 – Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
1991 – Wins a Formula Renault scholarship after impressing in karting races
1993-1997 – Competed in a host of competitions including British Formula Three, British Formula Two, and Formula 3000
1997 – Founded and developed the F3000 team Arden
1999 – Retired from driving and continued developing the Arden team
2005 – Appointed head of Red Bull team, becoming the youngest ever team principal at that time
2009 – Wins his first races as team principal with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
2010 – Wins the Constructors’ Championship and Drivers’ Championship with Vettel – the first of four doubles in a row
2013 – Has a daughter with ex-wife Beverly Allen shortly before the couple split
2014 – Gets engaged to Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell
2015 – Marries Halliwell in Woburn, Bedfordshire
2017 – Horner and Halliwell welcome their son
2021 – Wins another Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen, pipping Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season
2022-23 – Red Bull win the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship two years in a row
Geri later told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that her wedding day was the “happiest day of my life”.
However, it wasn’t as happy an occasion for Christian’s parents, who failed to attend.
After the engagement was announced, one of his devastated relatives told the Sunday Mirror: “You can say that his parents are absolutely devastated. We won’t be going to the wedding.
“There is a lot more to this story than people know about – to do with his ex-partner.”
However, Christian and Geri, who has a daughter called Bluebell Madonna from a previous relationship, eventually managed to patch things up with his parents and Beverley.
Christian told the Telegraph: “I have a great relationship with Beverley and Beverley gets on with Geri.
“It’s totally harmonious.”
I’d got to thinking I have a child, my husband has a daughter, and accepting this is our lot. Then Monty came naturally
Geri Horner
Geri and Christian also went through the emotional rollercoaster of IVF treatment before she finally gave birth to their son, Monty, naturally in January 2017.
She told Red magazine: “I’d tried an assisted route and it didn’t work.
“I feel for any woman that has that natural biological longing, it’s tough.
“I’d got to thinking I have a child, my husband has a daughter, and accepting this is our lot. Then Monty came naturally.”
The Spice Girl later admitted that Monty had picked up some of her rebellious traits.
That same year, she told Hello!: “He’s a pretty chilled baby for the most part, which he gets more from Christian, but then we’ll encounter a bit of protest and I think, ‘Ah, there’s the Halliwell!’.”
Country life
In the decade since their marriage, Geri and Christian appear to have blended seamlessly into each others’ lives.
The former pop star is an ever-present fixture at F1 races, while Christian looks every bit the English gentleman in Instagram posts from their Cotswold bolthole.
Geri can often be found caring for the animals on their two estates, which are home to horses, chickens, donkeys and goats.
The couple’s main base is their lavish Grade-II listed mansion in Marston St Lawrence, near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The manor house boasts a sprawling garden, a boating lake and a tennis court.
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Just last month reports emerged of plans to build a 40ft by 16ft swimming pool, a fountain, a topiary and sunbeds at their Oxfordshire property.
The pair also own a home in Hertfordshire, where they spent lockdown, and where the Spice Girls reunited for the first time in six years in 2018.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
