Spice Girls star Mel C has opened up on how she encourages her 10-year-old daughter Scarlet to be more body confident.
The 45-year-old singer - full name Melanie Chisholm - has candidly opened up her own battle with an eating disorder, and how that has translated into her parenting.
Advert
Revealing she was previously under-eating and "obsessively exercising," the star, known as Sporty Spice, said she was determined to stop her daughter going down the same path.
Mel told Women's Health UK: "I didn't ever allow people to speak about diets in our house.
"Scarlet's 10 years old now and I'm starting to notice that she's more conscious of the way she looks, but I think one of the positives of having gone through having an eating disorder is that I'm very conscious of how I speak around her.
Advert
"That positive language - it's habit now." Mel rose to stardom in Spice Girls in the 1990s, but blames "disgusting" comments in the press for the body image issues that followed.
She eventually started getting into destructive habits, like "cutting out food groups," and only eating fruit and veg for several years.
Looking back now, the singer - who starred in Spice Girls alongside Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Horner - said she was clearly "unwell".
Advert
Now healthy and happy, Mel had already changed her outlook on food and exercise by the time she had Scarlet - but she adds that parenthood has been hugely positive in helping her view her body differently.
"I was already on a much more positive road with my body, but after making a baby and her coming out, it just made me really credit myself and just think, 'wow'," she went on.
The November Mind Issue of Women's Health, featuring Mel C, is on sale on Tuesday 2nd October.
Topics: Spice Girls, Celebrity News, Parenting