17 July 2026
Melanie Chisholm is reportedly preparing to marry her partner Chris Dingwall this weekend.
Melanie Chisholm is reportedly preparing to marry her partner Chris Dingwall this weekend
Multiple reports claim the Spice Girls star, 52, is planning a private ceremony almost three decades after the group changed the face of pop music with Wannabe.
Neither Mel nor Chris – believed to be in his 40s – has publicly announced an engagement or confirmed plans to marry, but reports suggest the couple are set to exchange vows in what has been described as a “secret wedding”.
Melanie, best known around the world as Sporty Spice and for her work with the Spice Girls, has been in a relationship with Australian model, actor and screenwriter Chris for around two years after the pair met on celebrity dating app Raya.
According to the Daily Mail, the wedding is expected to reunite almost all of the Spice Girls as the group continues celebrating the 30th anniversary of Wannabe, the single that sold more than eight million copies worldwide and launched one of Britain’s biggest pop acts.
The publication reported Victoria Beckham is expected to miss the ceremony because she is in the United States with her husband, David Beckham, for the FIFA Club World Cup final.
A source quoted by the Daily Mail said: “Everyone is quite confused that Sporty Spice is having her wedding on the eve of the FIFA world cup final.
“There is a feeling she might move to Australia with Chris in due course. She already does The Voice Australia and her daughter, Scarlett, 17, will be off to university at the end of the year.”
Melanie has previously spoken openly about never believing marriage would form part of her future. Having watched her parents separate when she was a young child, she repeatedly said she did not see herself getting married despite several long-term relationships.
She shares her daughter, Scarlett, with former partner Thomas Starr.
In an interview with The Sunday Times in 2022, Melanie said: “I’ve never, never wanted to marry. Maybe marriage works for some people, but maybe to think it works for the majority is an old-fashioned notion.”
However, speaking to the same newspaper earlier this year, Melanie revealed her relationship with Chris had changed her perspective.
She said: “You know what? (Marriage is) something I didn’t think would be part of my story. But I’m so happy with Chris.
“Maybe it is something that will be in my life. I just think, just do all the things. Do you know what I mean? Have all the experiences.”
The couple made their relationship public in 2024, with Melanie later revealing during an appearance on the Life Uncut podcast with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne they first met through the celebrity dating app Raya.
Speaking to The Telegraph in May, Melanie said: “He’s very laid-back. He’s loads of fun… we have very similar personalities and lifestyles.”
The reported wedding follows a landmark week for the Spice Girls as Melanie, Victoria, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell-Horner and Melanie Brown each marked the 30th anniversary of Wannabe on social media. The celebrations have also reignited speculation over future reunion plans for the group, whose catalogue includes Say You’ll Be There, 2 Become 1, Spice Up Your Life and Viva Forever.
Earlier this month, Melanie received the Global Impact Award at the Nordoff and Robbins Silver Clef Awards at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where she reflected on the group’s extraordinary rise.
She said: “We knew exactly what we wanted to achieve but nobody imagined the scale (of what) we went on to do.
“We went out, we conquered the world. We were told that we couldn’t, and we wouldn’t. But we did.”
