Geri Halliwell did not "blindly stand by" her husband Christian Horner during the F1 text scandal that rocked the motorsport world, a friend of the former Spice Girl has revealed.
The 52-year-old pop star reportedly "had questions" for the Red Bull boss when allegations emerged about inappropriate texts sent to a female colleague.
A source close to the singer told The Sun that Halliwell is "no pushover" despite her public show of solidarity with her 51-year-old husband.
The friend revealed the allegations came as a "shock" to the couple, who never anticipated the controversy that would engulf them.
Geri Halliwell did not "blindly stand by" her husband Christian Horner, a source revealed
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"People think Geri was just blindly standing by her man through the whole thing but it's not like that at all," the friend told The Sun.
"When the allegations first came out, she of course had questions."
The revelations come as the scandal has returned to the spotlight through Netflix's Drive to Survive documentary.
"It was a shock to both of them when the allegations blew up - they never saw it coming and a lot of people were spreading hurtful rumours, but it was all untrue, they are in a really good place right now," the source added.
Halliwell had famously joined Horner at the Bahrain Grand Prix in March in what appeared to be a show of unity.
The Netflix documentary has captured Horner's candid reaction to the controversy that engulfed him earlier this year.
In footage from Drive to Survive, Horner is shown addressing the scandal by saying: "The higher you rise, the sharper the knives."
The Red Bull team principal was also caught on camera branding fellow team boss Zak Brown a "prick" for criticising him.
Christian Horner and Geri Halliwell have shown a united front since the scandal
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Brown, who leads McLaren, had advocated for F1's organisers to ensure teams and personnel "are operating in a manner which we all live by."
Horner's response was captured as he walked to Red Bull's hospitality suite, saying: "Zak's a p****. I'll get through it."
Horner has since been cleared by two independent investigations after Red Bull called in top lawyers to examine the claims.
The employee's appeal against the initial inquiry was dismissed in August.
Christian Horner was cleared by two independent investigations
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Horner, who has led Red Bull's F1 team since 2005, was allowed to keep his £8million-a-year job following the investigation.
The source told The Sun that the couple are "not phased" by the Netflix show and are instead "focused on the future".
Horner and Halliwell, who married in 2015 and share a young son, are reportedly putting the controversy behind them.
The Red Bull boss has always denied the allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
