Will strain of sexts storm force Geri to quit Spice Girls tour? Girlband reunion in question as it is revealed Ginger Spice will NOT commit to the project

Clad in a crop top and baggy trousers, with a cheeky smile and no small amount of determination on show, the young woman bouncing around onscreen is unmistakably Geri Horner - or Halliwell, as she was back then.

For as much as she is instantly recognisable however, one can't help but note the striking contrast between the youthful 'Ginger Spice' - seen on Monday when the Spice Girls posted a previously unseen video of their first exuberant audition 30 years ago - and the red-eyed, notably slender Geri who last week walked beside her scandal-hit husband F1 boss Christian Horner in Bahrain.

Certainly, those were simpler times for the beleaguered Geri, who has been profoundly humiliated after her spouse was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a female colleague.

Yet more fuel was added to the conflagration on Thursday when that same female colleague was suspended from her job at the Red Bull team's Milton Keynes factory, albeit on full pay. She is, say those who know her, someone who is respected and popular across motorsports, thanks to her 15-year-long career.

She is said to have been presented with a legal letter giving her five working days to appeal the outcome of the independent investigation.

Geri Horner has been humiliated after her husband of nine years was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a female colleague

Despite the rumours, the former Spice Girl has been pictured at the side of her scandal-hit husband  

Halliwell was pictured smiling and chatting with her embattled husband Christian Horner in the paddock prior to the race

Critics were quick to point out that it wasn't the best look for a sport supposedly devoted to 'inclusivity' if the female in this particular episode was punished, while the more powerful man, Horner, remained firmly in post.

There was further pressure when, late on Thursday evening, Red Bull Racing's current engine partner Honda called for increased transparency over the three-week-long independent investigation which cleared Horner - who earns £8m a year for his role - of misconduct.

If sponsors and industry big names start to turn against Red Bull, then that could be very bad news for him indeed.

Amid all this turmoil, what then to make of that innocent Spice Girls video, which showed the five bandmates dancing to their debut hit Wannabe?

The caption alongside it read: 'What started way back in 1994 has turned into an amazing journey, way beyond anything we could have imagined.'

Some excited fans thought, perhaps not without reason, that the band were hinting of a return - one which would provide a much-needed distraction for Geri, 51, and a chance to rebuild her carefully curated 'girl power' image.

Horner is taking centre stage at the Saudi Grand Prix after getting backing from Red Bull bosses over the 'sex texts' scandal

He was seen speaking with Saudi Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (pictured) ahead of the second race of the F1 season today

Horner and Franz Watzlawick, CEO of Red Bull Watzlawick looked to be in deep discussion ahead of the event in Jeddah

The couple are putting on a brave show and have been seen together at the Saudi Grand Prix after Horner was cleared following a three-week-long independent investigation 

Indeed, for some months, concerts have been in the planning stages to celebrate three decades of the group - albeit minus Victoria Beckham, who says she will never sing with the band again.

Others thought the video's release was entirely Geri's decision, an attempt to move the narrative away from her marital woes, and remind fans of past successes.

However, we can reveal that, far from the much-touted Spice Girls' reunion being imminent, Geri has not and - sources say - now will not commit to the project.

Instead, Geri - who in the past has been a keen driver of the proposed reunion, along with Mel B - has been utterly consumed by her marital problems.

A close associate of the band tells me that she is struggling with the circus that has enveloped her family. Put bluntly, she is not fit for high-profile performances in front of tens of thousands of people for the foreseeable future.

That rather matches with the Geri we saw last week, dressed in white, and tinily slender, teetering on heels, while her husband tightly gripped her hand, before placing his hand in the small of her back and around her waist, manoeuvring her around in front of the cameras.

The old 'girl power' Geri, she of the triumphant Union Jack minidress, appeared long gone.

That associate tells me: 'There were more live shows being discussed amongst the girls for some time. It all looked very hopeful, even though Victoria was not going to be involved.

In the midst of the swirling rumours, the Spice Girls shared a video with their fans showing the five bandmates dancing to their debut hit Wannabe

Unfortunately for fans of the girl group, far from the much-touted Spice Girls' reunion being imminent, Geri has not and - sources say - now will not commit to the project.

Despite her love for the band, a close associate of the band has said that Geri is struggling with the circus that has enveloped her family and is not ready to perform again yet

The old 'girl power' Geri who famously wore this Union Jack minidress has seemed more subdued in recent weeks as she deals with the fallout of her husbands messages

Seemingly putting her pop-star days behind her, Gerri has been cultivating a more 'country' look in cream and white and stunned at the Saudi Grand Prix in a a vintage Gucci number

In an attempt to scotch rumours Geri appeared in the Red Bull paddock smiling and chatting with Red Bull teammates and her husband as she tries to move on

'Geri always loved the Spice Girls, adored her time in the band and has been a real cheerleader for all of the past reunions.

'30 years of the band should be a special moment for her. It perhaps shows the level of turmoil that she is in right now. Geri is all about family, she loves being a wife and a mum and getting everything back on an even keel is what she will be concentrating on.

'The girls had wanted to mark the anniversary with something super special. Now it could end up not happening at all. Geri clearly wants to live a low profile existence for the foreseeable.'

Indeed, after last weekend's appearance in Bahrain at the first Grand Prix of the year - the first time she was seen in public since January, when the existence of those cringeworthy text messages was revealed - Geri has, again, vanished.

A friend tells me her astonishing appearance in the Red Bull paddock was prompted by fatigue with the speculation over her marriage - 'she just wants to move on,' says the friend.

Hence the trademark cream dress - a vintage Gucci number - and the very public display of affection with Christian.

If anything, however, that ultra-declarative kiss for the cameras, the fact she looked red-eyed, gaunt and rather discombobulated, and that Christian, a charismatic and powerful man, looked to be in the metaphorical driving seat just further stoked the story. The jury remains out on whether it was a good PR move. Some openly speculate that it was just for show.

Since then, Geri has not been seen returning to the UK, and did not appear to be on the same private jet owned by billionaire property magnate Tony Gallagher that she flew to Bahrain in when it landed in Oxford last Sunday night.

Some excited fans thought the release of the video to Instagram was a hint the band were re-uniting but hopes have been dashed as Geri isn't ready to perform again yet

They captioned the clip: 'What started way back in 1994 has turned into an amazing journey, way beyond anything we could have imagined.'

The Spice Girls at Capital Radio Summer Jam on the day that Wannabe went to number one in 1996

The Spice Girls remain a huge support for her with Victoria and Emma remaining in constant contact with her (Halliwell and Horner pictured before the scandal broke)

It's thought she and Christian may have jetted to Dubai for a couple of days, though neither have been seen in the Gulf country.

Friends of Geri, who is known to be something of a chameleon, worry she has fallen far under Christian's influence and sway.

But wherever she is, the Spice Girls remain a huge support for her.

Victoria and Emma have been in constant contact with her, with both speaking to her in recent weeks.

'The girls have been worried about Geri,' says one friend. 'While they are not working together every day anymore, and haven't for some time, there is such a close bond that it is pretty unbreakable.

'Victoria has given her strength - of course, she knows more than most what it is like to live in the public eye when the chips are down.

'Victoria cares deeply about Geri and really loves her. Geri has been living very much under the radar for a while. Then, bang, she is out there and her troubles are written about all over the place.

'Victoria knows what that's like better than anyone. She is just the most amazing friend to have at a time like this.'

Their friendship had been called into question three weeks ago when Geri unfollowed Victoria, as well as her husband David and their son Cruz, on social media.

However it's understood that Geri wanted to attempt to discreetly unfollow Max Verstappen, the star driver of her husband's Red Bull team - whose father, Jos, has so publicly criticised Christian - so unfollowed a raft of others at the same time, too.

Friends of Halliwell fear that her marriage may not survive and the discussions are said to have been difficult for her

Horner had attempted to quell the coverage this week, asking for an end to the 'intrusion' into his family life

The jury remains out on whether the pair's loved-up display was a good PR move - some openly speculate that it was just for show

Geri, I'm told, is very likely to be a guest at Victoria's 50th birthday celebrations next month.

As for Emma Bunton, she is described as the 'most loyal of friends'.

Mel B and Geri, meanwhile, have a turbulent friendship. Geri was furious when Mel revealed to Piers Morgan in a television interview in 2018 that the pair had kissed in the early days of the Spice Girls.

Geri, who was attempting to curate her image as a lady of the countryside, was mortified by Mel's revelation.

Meanwhile, Mel C is thought to see 'quite little' of Geri.

There is though, I'm told, also a WhatsApp group for the whole band which sources close to the group say that they use as a platform for 'showing the love' to one another.

Christian had attempted to quell the coverage this week, speaking in Saudi Arabia ahead of today's (SAT) Grand Prix.

Yet his demands for an end to the 'intrusion' into his family life - he and Geri have a son, Monty, aged seven, while he also has a daughter Oliva, eight, from his previous relationship with Beverly Allen and Geri has a 17-year-old daughter, Bluebell, from a previous relationship with screenwriter Sacha Gervasi - were judged by some to be tone-deaf, considering that he so readily appeared with his 'very supportive wife' in front of all those cameras.

Others felt he attempted to paint himself as a victim, rather than the unnamed woman from the text messages.

Meanwhile, friends of Geri fear that her road back to normality could be a 'very long one'. The discussion of whether her marriage will survive is said to have been difficult for her, a woman who has always longed for a Prince Charming.

Long held plans for her to reboot her career in the US - where she has hired an acting agent to find her work - are said to be now very firmly on ice.

'You just can't see it happening, can you?' one says. Because even for a woman of her undoubted tenacity, putting yourself on show in Hollywood, particularly with such a scandal hanging over her, takes an enormous amount of strength.

And, says someone who worked with Geri for some years, if she does have any strength left at all after the most trying of weeks, she'll be seeking to put it into her family, not fame.