Embattled Red Bull team principal Christian Horner shared photos of his wife Geri Halliwell to mark Mother’s Day, despite the furore around his sex texts scandal.
The Red Bull boss, 50, had been cleared of allegations of ‘coercive behaviour’, but has been fighting for his future after flirtatious text messages apparently exchanged between him and the female complainant were divulged to 149 F1 figures.
Halliwell, the former Spice Girl, has been in attendance at both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prixs to show her support to her husband amid the controversy.
Horner shared two photos of Geri featuring the couple’s seven-year-old son Monty, as well as another snap with his own mother Sara.
‘Happy Mother’s Day – So appreciative of the mums in our family for everything they do,’ Horner wrote. ‘We’re always grateful, today and every day.’
Horner, who has won 13 world championships since heading the team as a 31-year-old in 2005, had previously thanked his ‘very supportive wife’ for her backing during the accusations.
Halliwell and Horner mixed in social circles before they struck up a romance, having first met each other at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2009.
‘[Geri] was a guest of [former CEO of the Formula One Group] Bernie Ecclestone’s in Monaco one year and came down the pit lane,’ Horner previously told The Telegraph. ‘I remember [McLaren boss] Ron Dennis was standing next to me and Eddie Jordan was there as well.
‘She gave Ron a kiss on the cheek, and she gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek. So I thought, ‘OK, I’m on for a kiss on the cheek here!’ And I went to give her one and she shoved her hand out at me.’
Their relationship, however, got off to a rocky start, coming under fire after the Red Bull chief left his long-term partner Beverley Allen six months after she gave birth to their daughter Olivia.
While the couple took a short break to see if Horner could rescue his relationship with the mother of his child, just nine months later he announced his engagement to Ginger Spice in an advertisement in the The Times in 2014.
It said: ‘The engagement is announced between Christian, son of Mr and Mrs G.M. Horner and Geraldine, daughter of the late Mr L.F. Halliwell and Mrs A Parkinson.’
The former Spice Girl and Red Bull boss tied the knot at St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire, in 2015.
Halliwell’s A-line lace bridal gown was designed by British designer Phillipa Lepley.
Her nine-year-old daughter, Bluebell, whom she had with screenwriter Sacha Gervasi in 2005, also attended the wedding.
Guests included Geri’s former Spice Girls co-star Emma Bunton, radio presenter and singer Myleene Klass, and TV presenter Amanda Holden.
Christian’s parents were reportedly left devastated when the sporting professional left Ms Allen to be with the chart-topping star and therefore chose not to see the duo tie the knot.
A source close to the couple previously said: ‘Geri and Christian are disappointed that his parents aren’t coming.’
