Entertainment Music Mel B Reflects on Falling in 'Love' with a Woman Over 5-Year Relationship and Says Her Sexuality Is 'Very Open' "I don't want to put a label on it, but I’ve always thought women are beautiful," said Scary Spice, who was linked to Christine Crokos in the 2000s By Jack Irvin Jack Irvin Jack Irvin has over five years of experience working in digital journalism, and he’s worked at PEOPLE since 2022. Jack started in the industry with internships at Rolling Stone and Entertainment Tonight, and he worked as a freelance writer for publications including Bustle, MTV News, Shondaland, L’Officiel USA, Ladygunn, Flood and PopCrush before joining PEOPLE. In his current role, Jack covers daily music news and has interviewed both up-and-coming and established artists including Dolly Parton, Michelle Branch, Ashanti, Cyndi Lauper, Normani, Carly Rae Jepsen and Coco Jones. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 23, 2024 03:40PM EDT Close Melanie "Mel B" Brown in New York City in January 2024. Photo: Santiago Felipe/Getty Sexuality is fluid for Melanie "Mel B" Brown. In an interview with Attitude published Friday, April 19, the Spice Girls member reflected on falling in love with another woman over the course of a five-year relationship, describing her sexual orientation as "very open." "I feel like I am [a member of the LBGTQ+ community]," said Mel B, 48, who was romantically linked to American filmmaker Christine Crokos in 2003, three years following her divorce from ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar, with whom she shares daughter Phoenix Chi, 25. Spice Girls Reunite to Perform 'Stop' Dance at Victoria Beckham's 50th Birthday Party — See the Video! Melanie "Mel B" Brown in Los Angeles in November 2023. Steve Granitz/FilmMagic "I didn’t start off my sexual journey going, 'I’m this, I’m that, I’m bisexual.' I was, and always will be, very open," continued Scary Spice. "I happened to fall in love with a woman and was with her for five years," said Mel B, seemingly referring to Crokos, 48. "We still talk to this day. I don’t want to put a label on it, but I’ve always thought women are beautiful." The "Wannabe" singer has spoken about the relationship in the past, telling Gay Star News in a 2016 interview, "It wasn’t experimentation. I fell in love with a woman for five years. An experiment doesn’t last five years." Spice Girls to Spice Moms! See the Beautiful Kids of the Spice Girls Melanie "Mel B" Brown in Manchester in May 2022. Anthony Devlin/Getty After dating Crokos, Mel B welcomed her second daughter, Angel Iris, 17, whom she shares with Eddie Murphy, in 2007. Then, while married to ex-husband Stephen Belafonte from 2007 to 2017, she gave birth to her third daughter, Madison, 11. Scary Spice hosted the RBS British LGBT Awards in 2016 and further opened up about about her relationship with Crokos at the event, noting that she wasn't afraid of homophobia upon going public with her fluid sexuality. "I don’t see any fear. Why would I have fear? I’m not a fearful person. As soon as I left home, I lived my life fully. As long as I’m not being mean to anyone in my immediate circle or harming anyone, people out there can have judgment, it doesn’t affect me," she said, per Metro. Mel B Says She'll 'Never Be Fully' Healed from Abusive Relationship But Is 'on the Right Path' (Exclusive) Melanie "Mel B" Brown in London in July 2022. David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Elsewhere at the event, Mel B spoke about how she would feel if one of her daughters came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. "I’m hoping probably one of them will be! It’s not something I’d push, but it’s not something I’d push under the carpet," she explained at the time, per the outlet. "Whatever my kids want to be, I would celebrate. Whether they were gay, bisexual, transgender, I wouldn’t care. I would love and support them as my daughters."