Mel B, the mouthy, leopard-print-loving lady from the Spice Girls, opens the doors to her private life this week. Her new reality TV show, Mel B: It’s a Scary World, follows the singer and her family going about their everyday business. As family reality shows go, it’s not The Osbournes, but it does offer the melodrama and tantrums you’d expect from a former British superstar: we see Mel crying in the recording studio, bickering with her husband and telling off her stylist. We see her humanitarian side as she contributes to the NOH8 campaign with Ludacris, and her self-consciousness as she worries about preparing for a gig with Sugababes. We met her to learn more.
You’ve done a lot of work in front of the camera, but was it different having them in your home?
I have a job and my husband has a job, so they were just following us around. It’s not like we had to make anything up or act. It was actually quite easy. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a very natural thing to do.
You also have cameras during your family therapy session. Was it a big decision to show that much?
We decided if we were going to do it, we were just going to show life how it is, and that means therapy, date night, our arguments, me crying – we show everything. We want to make sure we’re giving the actual facts about all our family and what our lives are.
What do you hope people take from the show?
I guess you can just watch it and make your own opinion. At the end of the day I’m a busy working mum and I juggle my motherhood with my career and my married life. It’s just a big mixture of everything.
In the first episode we see you being schooled on your computer. Are you getting savvier with it?
Yeah, I am. I joined Twitter last week – @OfficialMelB. I’ve been tweeting a lot and I’m a little obsessed. It’s the only way I can have direct contact with my fans, so I love updating them. I’ve only been on there a week and I have almost 50,000 followers, so that’s not too bad.
Do you watch a lot of reality TV?
I do watch quite a few shows. Kim [Kardashian, featured on Keeping Up with the Kardashians] is a good friend of mine. I like watching Jerseylicious. I’ve also got into Jersey Shore a little bit. I think they’re all fun.
What else do we see during the first season of Scary World?
You see me back in the studio working on my album. I get a really big surprise guest artist to be on my single with me. There’s so much stuff – three kids and my husband. There’s a lot going on.
Speaking of your kids, are there things about parenthood that still surprise you?
Oh, my kids come out with things every single day that make me laugh or make me think twice. Even though you’re teaching your kids, you learn from kids, too.
You clearly own up to your past with the Spice Girls. Are you still in touch with the other girls?
Yeah, if you look at my tweets, we tweet each other – Mel C, Victoria and Emma. It’s quite fun, actually.
You did so well on Dancing with The Stars a few seasons back. Do you see that as an effort to get people to see a different side to you?
Well, you’re being filmed as soon as you walk into rehearsal and they edit whatever they see. I was just being me, so I didn’t really have to hold back. I had fun doing it.
Mel B: It’s a Scary World premieres on Wednesday November 17 at 11pm on Style.
