Geri Horner had all but given up hope of a Spice Girls reunion.
The girl group – also made up of Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, Mel B and Mel C – confirmed last week they are reuniting to work on some "incredible new opportunities" together, but the 45-year-old singer didn’t expect such a day to come after they failed to re-team in 2016.
Speaking about the possibility of the band reforming for the 20th anniversary of their debut single ‘Wannabe’, Geri said: "We all pushed for it, like, ‘Come on, let’s try and make it happen.’ It didn’t.
"You get to a point where you go, ‘Do you know what, just let it go.’ And I was having a baby.
"I’d really sort of let it go. It’s funny, they say let things go and I really had.
"That’s when I decided to go into television. A BBC executive said, ‘We think you should do primetime entertainment.’ She really encouraged me to do it."
Geri – who has 12-month-old son Monty with husband Christian Horner, and 11-year-old daughter Bluebell from a previous relationship with screenwriter Sacha Gervasi – admitted she has been in a "different mind frame" ever since she had kids, and is glad the whole group are reuniting together.
She added to The Sun newspaper: "When it finally came together the other day, we all came and sat around and went, ‘Maybe we should do something.’ And we all agreed.
"I think everyone goes through different stages in their life. I can’t speak for Victoria, but when you have children you just reflect.
"Who knows why but you get into different mind frames."
Last week, the ‘Spice Up Your Life’ stars insisted they will "embrace the original essence" of the group, who were known for regularly promoting messages of female empowerment.
In a joint statement, they said: "We have enjoyed a wonderful afternoon catching up and reminiscing about the amazing times we have spent together.
"We are always overwhelmed at how much interest there is across the whole world for the Spice Girls.
"The time now feels right to explore some incredible new opportunities together.
"We all agree that there are many exciting possibilities that will once again embrace the original essence of the Spice Girls, while reinforcing our message of female empowerment for future generations."