Mel B’s – Mel B reveals 25 never-before-seen moments in a new Us Weekly interview, from Nelson Mandela trying to set her up to a fan request involving a tattoo—plus how she deals with singing grief and what she can’t leave home without.
Mel B doesn’t hold back when she sits down for “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me,” the interview she completed for the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
The Spice Girls star opens up about everything from a surreal encounter with Nelson Mandela—who she says tried to get her a date with one of his cousins—to why she still struggles with a particular song. She also shares the strangest request she’s ever been given by a fan. involving a tattoo that even she admits caught her off guard.
Right now, Mel B is also a judge on America’s Got Talent. The show returns on NBC on June 2 at 8 pm ET. When she was asked what her most random talent would be if she had to go on America’s Got Talent. she told Us Weekly exclusively: “If I had to go on America’s Got Talent. my most random talent would be being able to read your mind!”.
Then, she turns the spotlight fully onto herself—one surprising admission at a time.
Her favorite Spice Girl memory, she says, is “meeting Nelson Mandela and him trying to get me a date with one of his cousins.”
But if Mandela’s attempt at matchmaking sounds bold, her strangest fan request is stranger. Mel B says she’s been asked “to sign someone’s boob for them to get it tattooed.” She adds, “I didn’t want to do it, but I gave in!”
Music still pulls at her, too. The Spice Girls song she finds hardest to do is “Let Love Lead the Way” because it’s “all about Geri leaving two years after we made it and it still makes me sad.”
And when it comes to being on stage in front of millions, Mel B has her own pre-performance ritual: “Before performing, I meditate. Always.”
The rest of her list reads like a backstage diary—unexpected, funny, sentimental, and intensely personal. She says she’s “lucky to be married to a great cook,” so she “rarely cook[s].” When she does, she makes “a spicy fish soup that I love.”
She also says she would have loved a different kind of life, telling Us Weekly, “I’d love to have been a Navy SEAL. I’m obsessed.” She explains that she appeared on “Special Forces: The World’s Toughest Test,” and “enjoyed every second.”
Some answers are sweetly vague. “My first kiss was too long ago to remember.”
Others are pure curiosity. “If I could be reincarnated, I’d want to come back as an invisible superpower person so I could spy on anyone and see anything. I’m very nosy!”
Even her relationship with her past is clear. “I never throw anything away. I have all my Spice Girl outfits, including the lime-green Mister Byrite top I wore on the ‘Wannabe’ video 30 years ago.”
She also points to her legacy beyond pop stardom. saying she hopes her legacy is “my book Brutally Honest and the work I’ve done with and for other survivors.” She ties that mission directly to advocacy for domestic abuse charities. saying she believes “all domestic abuse charities do incredible work. ” and that she’s an advocate for them “speaking in Parliament and in places like the World Economic Forum.”.
Her childhood branding still makes her smile, too. “At school, I was called Pineapple Head because I used to wear my hair up on top of my head — and then obviously I became Scary!”
At home, she keeps the reminders of her career close. “I keep my awards all over my house. I love being surrounded by them!”
She’s also a night owl, saying: “I’m definitely a night owl. I love to potter around when everyone else is in bed.” And when family game night happens. it’s not always a fair fight—Mel B plays the card game “Pairs” with her kids. She says Phoenix and Angel “will tolerate a few games,” while Madison “is supercompetitive like me, so she loves it.”.
Food brings a specific kind of comfort. Her favorite comfort meal is “roast chicken, Yorkshire pudding, gravy, sprouts, roast potatoes and the full works.” At the same time, she’s firm about what she won’t do: “I don’t ever order fast food. I don’t like to eat anything processed.”
Her sense of humor shows up in her “famous person” answer, too. “The most famous person in my phone book? Maybe all the girls: Emma, Mel C, Geri and Vic Beckham!”
On a more personal level, she shares the kind of routine that helps her unwind on her own land. “I live on a farm. so I decompress by feeding my animals.” She’s also explicit about what travels with her every day: “Three items I can’t leave the house without are my little comfort dog. Cookie. my giant water bottle and my Revive Menopause collagen. which I swear by.”.
She adds that she doesn’t just hold memories—she holds gear. Even her first job is part of the story: “My first job was at Pizza Hut. I was fired every week for messing up orders and then rehired every week because the customers liked me.”
Mel B also includes details that feel like everyday life, not headlines. “My favorite comfort meal…” She says she loves roast chicken. She says she keeps her awards around her house. She says she meditates before performing. She says she can’t leave home without her dog Cookie and her giant water bottle.
But the emotional center of her list keeps returning to the Spice Girls past—especially the parts that still land. Her grief over Geri’s departure is still there when she sings “Let Love Lead the Way,” and that’s the line that lingers.
Her most embarrassing moment, she says, happened in Leeds. “My most embarrassing moment was when I turned on the Christmas lights in Leeds and I ran out on stage, skidded and fell off. But I did get up laughing.”
And through all 25 admissions, the message is consistent: for Mel B, the biggest surprises aren’t just wild fan requests or celebrity moments. It’s the way her life—music, advocacy, family, habits, and small comforts—stays vividly present even years after the spotlight began.
Mel B Spice Girls Us Weekly America’s Got Talent NBC June 2 Let Love Lead the Way Nelson Mandela Geri Halliwell Victoria Beckham Emma Bunton Mel C Geri leaving tattoo request Cookie Revive Menopause collagen