Halliwell was in Helsinki performing with the group, but he then went missing when Spice Girls returned home to the U.K. National Lottery. Mel C (then known as Sporty Spice) said that Geri was not feeling well. Geri, get well soon! Pointing at the camera, she continued to add.
Geri had, in the meantime, gone to France with her brother to rest. The girls flew on to Oslo without her and, on May 31, 1998, they announced that Geri had left the group, citing “differences between us.”
Obviously whenever someone leaves a good gig like that, rumors fly, and stories of tensions with other members of the group tend to soar the highest. Halliwell’s story of Brown and a power struggle was most common. Meanwhile, Geri thought she had made her intentions clear before she actually left.
Beckham, who was once Posh Spice’s founder, stated in her 2001 book, “Everyone had there theories.” Learn to fly. That there was some good rowing on the return flight to Helsinki. It was obvious that we had been hitting one another. It was true that we had all laughed on the flight home… [why she took off]. It is not clear why she stated that. Perhaps it was because she thought it would make her appear better. This, however, is exactly what she did. Geri Halliwell had completely abandoned us.”
Mel B said, “It’s mad.” Make a fire!. We didn’t have the time to fully absorb all that had occurred. “We just needed to move on.”