Geri Halliwell has told how she has her eye on a new man. "I'm not going into details," she giggles. "Right now there's nothing serious. I was a late starter on the romantic front. I didn't start dating until I was in my 30s. "I quite like having somebody to cuddle. I like that intimacy, it would be wonderful."
In an exclusive interview and photo shoot with HELLO! magazine to mark turning 40, the Spice Girls singer also reveals the secret heartache behind their triumphant reunion at the Olympic Closing Ceremony last week. Relaxing on the French Riviera with her six year-old daughter Bluebell, Geri tells how she spent her 40th birthday rehearsing, but performing with Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Mel B and Melanie Chisholm for the first time in four years was the best gift she could have wished for - now they have put their past differences behind them. Recalling her big day Geri says: "The girls were very sweet and made me feel special. There was a cake, lovely presents – and elegant, pretty necklace – and singing of course. "No matter what’s happened in the past, we love and accept each other," she added. "I always laugh most when I'm around them." And Geri goes on to explain how she was particularly emotional during the concert because it was held on her father’s birthday: "Sadly he died six months before the Spice Girls, when I was 21. So doing the Olympics on his birthday was so sweet and poignant for me.
"It was a wake up call, dealing with that pain and loss, then turning it into drive." And Geri, who has battled with her weight in the past, is looking better than ever as she shows off her gym-honed body in a series of beautiful bikinis. Although says she no longer diets, she avoids sugar and alcohol, and feels far better for it: "If I'm going to find the balance of being a mum and having a social life, I just can't put a hangover in there."