has never been one to shy away from controversy, but his infamous claim of having bedded four out of the five Spice Girls continues to follow him decades later.
The Take That star, who turns 51 today, originally made the shocking claim while introducing a song during a tour, joking: “I am very fortunate to have been in Take That and four out of five of the Spice Girls.”
The rumour spread like wildfire, fuelled further by Mel B’s comments seemingly confirming his statement.
Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, she scoffed: “He actually publicly apologised to me for all that mess. Saying he had apparently gotten it on with all five Spice Girls… He wishes. I was the one he never did. He’s a friend of mine. Yuck! He had been with my friends – I don’t want sloppy seconds.”
Williams did have romantic ties to two members of the Spice Girls. He famously dated in 2000, with rumours swirling that he even wrote his hit single Eternity about their romance.
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Robbie famously dated Geri Halliwell in 2000 (Image: Getty)
He was also linked to Mel C, though the former Sporty Spice made it clear in her memoir Who I Am that their relationship never went beyond dating. She later joked: “Nah, sod him! I’m not warning him about anything the way he’s behaved over the years.”
Emma Bunton also had a hilarious response to Williams’ infamous remarks. Before allowing him to feature on her first album in 12 years, she made one demand—he had to stop saying he’d slept with the Spice Girls.
The singer revealed their email exchange, explaining: “Sometimes I think I’m being funny,” Robbie admitted. Emma fired back: “You are funny and we adore you but stop saying it now. We forgive you if you don’t ever say it again.”
Robbie’s wife, Ayda Field, also implied that her husband had slept with three out of the five Spice Girls, when she appeared on Loose Women.
Panelist Andrea McLean asked Ayda: “Ayda did Robbie know the Spice Girls?” to which she sheepishly replied: “Yes he did…”
Nadia Sawalha then said: “Did he know Geri?” as Ayda added: “Yes he did…”
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Robbie, seen here with Victoria and now husband David Beckham, claimed it was a “joke” (Image: Getty)
Keen to get her to dish the dirt even more, Nadia continued: “Did he know Baby?” to which Ayda joked that he did, however, she didn’t touch on Mel B or .
Nadia went on to say: “Did you make him write down all the Spice Girls that he knew?” as Ayda explained: “There are not enough paper or pens.”
But as the years went on, the joke took on a life of its own. Robbie eventually tried to backtrack, telling The Sun in 2016: “I told a joke a long time ago and it sort of got out of hand.” He went on to apologise, adding: “I would like to apologise to all the Spice Girls involved and their husbands and boyfriends. I know a few husbands and boyfriends weren’t too happy with the joke.”
Williams later admitted that the whole saga had spiralled out of control, telling The Sun: “I said four out of five because it was good for the joke. I think if you check records everybody knows how many it was.”
However, despite his attempts to set the record straight, it seems the rumour is one that will follow him for years to come.