{"id":14567,"date":"2026-07-23T11:50:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14567"},"modified":"2026-07-23T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:50:47","slug":"what-victoria-beckhams-no-show-at-mel-cs-wedding-reveals-about-midlife-friendships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14567","title":{"rendered":"What Victoria Beckham&#8217;s no-show at Mel C&#8217;s wedding reveals about midlife friendships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"efQnuYuXl-g\" data-wc=\"82\">When <a class=\"hm-link he-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/brides\/913600\/mel-c-marries-gentle-boyfriend-victoria-beckham-misses-out\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-body-link\">Melanie C got married at the weekend to her model boyfriend Chris Dingwall <\/a>it was almost a Spice Girls reunion. <a class=\"hm-link he-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/fashion\/celebrity-style\/913749\/geri-halliwell-horners-dress-mel-c-wedding\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-body-link\">Geri Halliwell, Mel B and Emma Bunton were all in attendance<\/a>, and the bride even wore a <a class=\"hm-link he-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/brides\/914017\/melanie-c-bridal-sporty-spice-ab-baring-silk-wedding-tracksuit\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-body-link\">silk Adidas tracksuit<\/a> in a nod to her Sporty Spice days. All that was missing for them to drunkenly recreate <em>Wannabe<\/em> on the dancefloor at 1am was <a class=\"hm-link he-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/celebrities\/913627\/victoria-beckham-pictured-nyc-forced-to-miss-bandmate-mel-c-wedding\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-body-link\">Victoria Beckham, who missed Mel C\u2019s big day<\/a> to attend the World Cup Final in New York.<\/p>\n<p><ev-engagement id=\"horizon_hello\" group-name=\"horizon_hello\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-embedded\">\n<div data-wc=\"75\" id=\"eyuFh5QdGm\">\n<figure class=\"he-meIm-995f02\">\n<div class=\"he-imCo-14461c5\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/778cd34e3638-victoria-beckham-world-cup-2026-outfit.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width:1360px) 630px, (min-width:960px) 60vw, (min-width:320px) calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2)), calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2))\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/778cd34e3638-victoria-beckham-world-cup-2026-outfit.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_960 960w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/778cd34e3638-victoria-beckham-world-cup-2026-outfit.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_640 640w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/778cd34e3638-victoria-beckham-world-cup-2026-outfit.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_360 360w\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Victoria Beckham brought her A-game for the 2026 World Cup game\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\"image he-image\" data-flatplan=\"fp_photoCaption\"\/><span class=\"he-imCr-1233683\">\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"he-meImCa-17135c3\">Victoria Beckham brought her fashion A-game for the 2026 World Cup game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"e-v1kQ69vyM\" data-wc=\"64\">Many people have seen the fact that VB didn\u2019t make Mel\u2019s Big Day as a Big Snub, and our reader poll revealed that 43% of you think friends come first, and Victoria was wrong not to prioritise the wedding. But I think it simply reveals an uncomfortable &#8211; and relatable &#8211; truth. This is just what happens to your friendships when you hit midlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"e2eoencJID\" data-wc=\"36\">I\u2019m currently planning my wedding aged 41, and I fully expect to have plenty of \u201cno\u201ds in my RSVPs. Like Mel C, who\u2019s 52, this is the price you pay for getting married later in life.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-embedded\">\n<div data-wc=\"75\" id=\"e0wl3hIDq0\">\n<figure class=\"he-meIm-995f02\">\n<div class=\"he-imCo-14461c5\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/66ec17b82629-gettyimages-158233481.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width:1360px) 630px, (min-width:960px) 60vw, (min-width:320px) calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2)), calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2))\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/66ec17b82629-gettyimages-158233481.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_960 960w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/66ec17b82629-gettyimages-158233481.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_640 640w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/66ec17b82629-gettyimages-158233481.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_360 360w\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton pose backstage at the Gala Press Night performance of 'Viva Forever' at the Piccadilly Theatre on December 11, 2012 in London, England.  \" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\"image he-image\" data-flatplan=\"fp_photoCaption\"\/><span class=\"he-imCr-1233683\">\u00a9 Getty Images<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"he-meImCa-17135c3\">Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown and Emma Bunton attended Melanie C&#8217;s wedding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"etaWcIlmkt3G\" data-wc=\"89\">When you\u2019re in your twenties and thirties, your friendships are the front and centre of your world. I had my first wedding aged 32 and all my friends were there for an entire weekend of festivities (and a hen do and numerous dress fittings and a rehearsal dinner and so on). But when you\u2019re in your forties and fifties, your priorities change. Now we might have kids, high-pressure jobs, mortgages, elderly parents, or any number of responsibilities which sometimes just can\u2019t be dropped &#8211; however lavish your friend\u2019s wedding.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-embedded\">\n<div data-wc=\"200\" id=\"eTufIS8Xwp\">\n<figure class=\"he-meIm-995f02\">\n<div class=\"he-imCo-14461c5\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/313df5db399a-kate-willsheadshot.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width:1360px) 630px, (min-width:960px) 60vw, (min-width:320px) calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2)), calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2))\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/313df5db399a-kate-willsheadshot.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_960 960w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/313df5db399a-kate-willsheadshot.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_640 640w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/313df5db399a-kate-willsheadshot.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_360 360w\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"I'm planning my second wedding right now and fully expect to have plenty of \u201cno\u201ds in my RSVPs\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\"image he-image\" data-flatplan=\"fp_photoCaption\"\/><span class=\"he-imCr-1233683\">\u00a9 Rachael Wright<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"he-meImCa-17135c3\">I&#8217;m planning my second wedding right now and fully expect to have plenty of \u201cno\u201ds in my RSVPs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"ePJwrazilFnP\" data-wc=\"96\">I\u2019ve been in Victoria Beckham\u2019s shoes recently, too (not literally, those sky-high stilettos would kill me). A few years ago, I was invited to my former colleague Lucy\u2019s wedding. Although we hadn\u2019t seen each other for a while, I was so happy for her and instantly RSVP-ed yes. But when the date rolled around, I started thinking about it with dread. I had a 2-year-old daughter who had just started nursery and had contracted every illness known to man and passed them all onto us. We were knackered, stressed and not in any mood to party.<\/p>\n<p id=\"eo2k7egSCUXj\" data-wc=\"81\">I felt really guilty but eventually I decided that I had to call Lucy and bail. She said she totally understood, and I sent her a massive bunch of flowers to be delivered the morning of her wedding as a way of saying sorry. Maybe Victoria also felt like she had to make a gesture for not being present &#8211; <a class=\"hm-link he-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/brides\/913742\/victoria-beckham-hidden-role-mel-c-wedding-as-shes-forced-to-miss-spice-girls-reunion\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-body-link\">she made Mel C\u2019s wedding dress for her<\/a>. She was there in spirit (and expensive white lace), if not in person.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-embedded\">\n<div data-wc=\"125\" id=\"eb_mbRQF7j\">\n<figure class=\"he-meIm-995f02\">\n<div class=\"he-imCo-14461c5\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/8f6d5869dade-spice-girls.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width:1360px) 630px, (min-width:960px) 60vw, (min-width:320px) calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2)), calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2))\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/8f6d5869dade-spice-girls.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_960 960w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/8f6d5869dade-spice-girls.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_640 640w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/8f6d5869dade-spice-girls.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_360 360w\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Five women, including Melanie C, Victoria Beckham, and Geri Halliwell, pose together in elegant dresses in front of a floral backdrop.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\"image he-image\" data-flatplan=\"fp_photoCaption\"\/><span class=\"he-imCr-1233683\">\u00a9 Instagram\/ @melaniemusic<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"he-meImCa-17135c3\">Mel C and Victoria Beckham are just like the rest of us &#8211; sort of.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"ebfqJt14Jth6\" data-wc=\"127\">Lucy\u2019s wedding may have been the first time that I ducked out of a friend\u2019s Big Day, but I know it won\u2019t be the last. Earlier this year I was invited to an old school friend\u2019s 3-day nuptials in Ibiza. But it was strictly no-kids and I had a 5-month old who I was still breastfeeding. The logistics &#8211; and expense &#8211; of transporting my little family to the Balearics and finding someone to look after my two kids felt like an impossible task. Of course, that\u2019s technically not true. If the desire had been there I\u2019m sure I could\u2019ve found a way. But given I barely saw this mate any more and knew very few of her friends, I wondered how much fun I\u2019d actually have.<\/p>\n<p id=\"eCJJQr8ORo3Z\" data-wc=\"116\">The same could be said of Victoria of course, who would\u2019ve had the budget to hire a private jet to get her from New York to Mel C\u2019s lakeside wedding in Cumbria quicker than you could say \u2018Zig A Zig Ah\u2019. And many people have questioned how much Victoria even needed to be at the World Cup Final, given the photo of her \u201ccelebrating\u201d after one of England\u2019s goals went viral (clue: she didn\u2019t celebrate at all). But when you get to our age, you start to weigh up all the effort it takes to socialise and question if it\u2019s worth it. Yes, weddings are an important life milestone. But, essentially, they\u2019re just a big party.<\/p>\n<p id=\"evTybOB5je82\" data-wc=\"51\">It\u2019s not just weddings which slide down the to-do list when you\u2019re in midlife. Since I was 37 I\u2019ve had a joint savings account with some friends from uni. Every month we each put \u00a310 in a pot with the goal of going on a big holiday for our 40th birthdays.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-embedded\">\n<div data-wc=\"75\" id=\"elcMm_dF8c\">\n<figure class=\"he-meIm-995f02\">\n<div class=\"he-imCo-14461c5\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/2c9fee235100-kate-wills-friends.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width:1360px) 630px, (min-width:960px) 60vw, (min-width:320px) calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2)), calc(100vw - (var(--page-gutter) * 2))\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/2c9fee235100-kate-wills-friends.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_960 960w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/2c9fee235100-kate-wills-friends.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_640 640w, https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/original_aspect_ratio\/2c9fee235100-kate-wills-friends.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_360 360w\" width=\"1024\" height=\"546\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Friendships just evolve in your later years\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" class=\"image he-image\" data-flatplan=\"fp_photoCaption\"\/><span class=\"he-imCr-1233683\">\u00a9 Instagram<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"he-meImCa-17135c3\">Friendships just evolve in your later years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"eW4rsItTuEX7\" data-wc=\"83\">I\u2019m almost 42 now and this holiday has no sign of materialising. We all have such different commitments so every time we try to plan something it feels impossible. One of us is pregnant so can\u2019t go to any countries with Zika virus, one has three kids and can\u2019t leave her husband alone with them for more than two days, one is launching her own business, and can\u2019t take time off. At this rate we\u2019ll be lucky to go away for our 50th.<\/p>\n<p id=\"e6Tp6h8NmyEy\" data-wc=\"106\">Hopefully things get a bit easier once we\u2019re out of this crunch time of midlife. Maybe when we\u2019re in our sixties and seventies, with kids a bit older and work easing off, our social lives will once again be front and centre of our lives. By that point, I\u2019m sure some of my friends will be on their third or fourth marriages, or at least renewing their vows. With old mates, you can pick things up where you left off no matter how much time you\u2019ve passed or how many life moments you\u2019ve missed. After all, as Mel and Vic and co. sang \u201cFriendships never ennnnnd\u201d.<\/p>\n<p id=\"eEOzlfU0N3A\" data-wc=\"12\">Follow Kate on her new Substack <a class=\"hm-link he-link\" href=\"https:\/\/katewills.substack.com\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"article-body-link\">&#8216;An Open Book with Kate Wills&#8217;<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Melanie C got married at the weekend to her model boyfriend Chris Dingwall it was almost a Spice Girls reunion. Geri Halliwell, Mel B and Emma Bunton were all in attendance, and the bride even wore a silk Adidas tracksuit in a nod to her Sporty Spice days. All that was missing for them&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.hellomagazine.com\/horizon\/landscape\/56e0fa40f6e1-melanie-c-wedding-victoria-beckham-snub.jpg?tx=c_fill,w_1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}