"It's a mood-changer." How baking helped Geri Halliwell overcome her bulimia.

March 7, 2016

As the feisty Ginger Spice she was an icon of confidence and ‘Girl Power’, but behind the scenes it was a different story for Geri Halliwell.

“Throughout my 20s, I had bulimia. Even when I’d recovered from it, I had a distant relationship with food,” the former Spice Girl, now known as Geri Horner, explains in an new interview with You magazine.

Horner, now 43, has since recovered from the eating disorder and she credits motherhood and baking as two sources of salvation.

“I wanted to be a healthy example for my daughter, so I tried to have balance. But to bake properly and celebrate cake rather than run from it was such a landmark for me,” she says.

“The creativity of baking something is like writing a song; it’s a mood-changer.”

Watch: Social and environmental factors contribute to anorexia – but is it genetic? (Post continues after video.)

Horner showcased her love of baking in a recent celebrity fundraising version on The Great British Bake-off, which she won.

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This isn’t the first time the singer has spoken of her experience with bulimia. In a previous interview with The Mirror, she further explained why the birth of her daughter Bluebell was a turning point in her recovery.

“There are other things to worry about and being a mum has definitely shifted the focus. I don’t have time to exercise for two or three hours a day and I have to choose whether I go and work out for hours or I go and play with my daughter,” she told the publication.

Horner also explained why she hasn’t kept her battle with the illness a secret.

Kentish Huffkins ?.

A photo posted by Geri Horner (@therealgerihalliwell) on Feb 27, 2016 at 10:33am PST

“Having had bulimia is part of my history. I don’t shut the door on it but I don’t focus on it. It is something I have experienced,” she said.

“I’m definitely less controlling about the way I look and I’ve learned to relax and let go a bit.”

Bluebell isn’t the only person in Horner’s life who helped her through her mental health problems.

During an appearance on Piers Morgan’s show Life Stories in 2010, she recalled how her close friend Robbie Williams intervened during her absolute lowest period. (Post continues after gallery.)

Celebrities speak of their experiences with eating disorders

Demi Lovato.Demi Lovato told Seventeen magazine: "Eating disorders are serious and complex problems that affect millions of young men and women all over the world. But so many people don't actually understand them. For example, it's a common misconception that eating disorders are just about food. But they're actually about so much more than that." (Image via Getty.)

Portia De RossiIn the documentary It Got Better, Portia de Rossi said: When I was 26, my eating disorder had gotten to a point where I felt physically exhausted and I was just 38 kilograms at the time. I then got a general fitness assessment and it came back positive for lupus and all sorts of ailments. That was the start of my very long recovery.

Daniel JohnsDaniel Johns told the Sydney Morning Herald: "It [food] was just the enemy. I just hated the look of it, the smell of it. If anyone talked about it, I'd leave the room...Kinda when I stopped eating was on our second album, just as it felt like everything was so out of control. The reason I think [I did it] was just to gain control." (Image via Getty.)

Kesha"I felt like part of my job was to be as skinny as possible and, to make that happen, I had been abusing my body", Kesha told Elle Magazine in 2014.

Princess DianaIn tapes obtained by NBC, the Late Princess Diana said. Bulimia started the week after we got engaged. My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: Oh, a bit chubby here, arent we? That triggered off something in me. I remember the first time I made myself sick, I was so thrilled because I thought right, this was the release of tension. (Image via Getty.)

Thandie NewtonThandie Newton told People magazine she suffered from bulimia in her teens and early twenties: "After that first [therapy] session, I never threw up again. I had made the connection between shame and self abuse." (Image via Getty.)

Anjali RaoJournalist Anjali Rao told Show and Tell online: "I couldn't even imagine eating half a sandwich. It was like this switch suddenly went off." (Image via Creative Commons/Flickr @pat_and_sharon)

Courtney LoveAlthough Courtney Love says she never had anorexia, she told Elle magazine that: "I saw a picture of myself in The New York Times and I looked like a skeleton. I knew I had to eat more because I was scary. I lost my tits, I lost my ass. My stomach was really loose and saggy. It was because I hadnt done any exercise to lose the weight, I simply hadnt eaten."

“I was worried I’d get fat. I would binge and then felt fatter and would make myself sick. It was awful,” she explained.

“Robbie knew about my bulimia and he advised me to get help. He told me to go into rehab and that possibly saved my life. The bulimia would have got worse without it. I will always be grateful to him, always.”

Is there an activity or person that’s helped you overcome a hardship in your life?

If this post brings up issues for you, contact the Butterfly Foundation‘s National Support line and online service on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or at support@thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

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