The News Archive

Stunning Brigitte van Leeuwan revealed how dancer Jimmy Gulzar cruelly dumped her for Melanie just weeks after he had begged her to marry him.

She told the stricken pop star, whose marriage is on the rocks after only eight months: "If he did it to me, he'll do it to you. Jimmy is a liar and a cheat. You're better off without him. You should get the hell out of there while you can. Jimmy was just going for the money and the big time. He loves the glamorous life, the clothes, the parties and the money. That is Mel's world."

It was revealed last week that Melanie and Jimmy have been living in separate wings of their mansion in Marlow, Bucks. The couple also started a legal battle for custody of their three-month-old daughter Phoenix Chi.

Brigitte, 29, sobbed as she told how deeply religious Jimmy called her his "gift from God" and dropped to his knees in prayer after they enjoyed marathon sex sessions.

Jimmy, 31, was so smitten with Brigitte that he went to her mother and asked for her hand in marriage, but just as the pair were planning their future together, Jimmy was given the chance to join the Spice Girls on their sell-out world tour.

Although he promised to be faithful to Brigitte, he began his affair with Melanie just weeks later.

Brigitte said: "All my friends warned me that Jimmy would cheat on me with Scary Spice but he said he only loved me. He said God had given me to him and I had to trust him. He said all he wanted was to marry me and have children, but it was all a big lie. He lied to me and he lied to himself. He was in bed with her within weeks of proposing to me. He's a cheat and he always will be. Jimmy can't stand to feel trapped. He needs to be free. We dreamed of getting married but he destroyed everything. I felt so hurt and empty when it was announced that Jimmy and Mel B were going out together. He didn't even have the guts to admit it to me. I had to read about it in the newspapers."

Dutch beauty Brigitte said that she and Jimmy enjoyed a sex life "made in heaven" after they became lovers in October 1997.

Brigitte said: "We had known each other for years and I had always thought Jimmy was very sexy but he had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend. After we both split from our partners we were at a friend's house one night watching a film. There was a sexual tension between us and at the end of the evening Jimmy leaned over and started to kiss me passionately. He asked me to stay over and we moved to the bedroom and undressed one another quickly. Jimmy is an excellent lover. He has a nice, strong body and is experienced with women. He really knew what to do to turn me on. He took his time and kept telling me that I was beautiful. At the end of the night I was completely satisfied. Our sex life just took off from there. There was always a lot of passion and emotion. Our relationship was very intense and within a few weeks we had fallen headlong in love with one another. Jimmy is very religious and he said he had prayed to God for me and God had answered his prayer. After we made love, Jimmy would sit up in bed or kneel down and say a prayer. At first, I thought it was weird, when he bowed his head and put his hands together, but later I respected him for it. He said he was thanking God for giving me to him. He said, 'Brigitte, I asked God for you and he gave you to me. You're so beautiful. I'm so happy that God gave you to me.'"

Brigitte said she was worried when Jimmy was chosen for his dancing spot on the Spice Girls tour. The couple had grown so close that she was scared she was going to lose him, but she knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime for Jimmy, who was eking out a meager living dancing in nightclubs.

Brigitte said: "I didn't really want him to go but I knew I couldn't stand in his way. Jimmy said he was going to be Mel B's dance partner and I was naturally worried that he would fancy her. The Spice Girls are so sexy and wild, I was scared he would never come back to me, but Jimmy said that I had to trust him. He said that he loved me and wanted to marry me. He asked if he could meet my mother Riet to ask for my hand in marriage but I wasn't sure. Finally, he insisted and he met her and told her he was in love with me and wanted to get married. He told everyone we were getting wed. He even introduced me to another dancer as 'my wife to be'. He said he was going to pick the perfect spot for us to get married from all the places he would see on the world tour. We even discussed having children but we decided there was no point in my getting pregnant when he would be away. He said it wouldn't be long before he was back and we could be together forever."

She said: "He didn't phone very often and even when he did call, he appeared distant. When I asked what was wrong he told me not to be jealous and difficult. A couple of weeks later, he finally admitted after half an hour on the phone there was a problem. He said he had started to get more feelings for Mel. I couldn't believe my ears. After all he had said to me and promised me and all that God talk, I just couldn't stand it. I got really angry and called him a jerk and hung up. He tried to call back many times but I kept hanging up on him. A couple of weeks later, I read in a Dutch gossip column that Jimmy and Mel were going out together. It was so painful. All my friends said I told you so and we warned you. I bet he says the same things to Mel - that she's so beautiful and that their marriage was arranged by God. All women love to hear things like that and Jimmy knows the right things to say at the right moment. But I can't trust any man in my life anymore.

Brigitte has now turned her back on men, and is dating fellow model Peronne Pet who looks uncannily like Melanie. She says she still has some sympathy for the Spice Girl who has seen her marriage collapse in the full glare of the media spotlight.

Brigitte said: "I think their splitting up is very sad. They didn't really know each other when they got married, but Jimmy always really wants to be free. His attitude has always been that he does exactly what he wants. He wants a girlfriend, but he doesn't want the feeling that he is trapped. The best thing for Mel to do is to get out of that marriage right now."

Jimmy chatted up with an ex-lover in a nightclub while Melanie was pregnant, a close pal revealed. The dancer kissed and flirted with former girlfriend Joyce van Engelen just weeks after he and Melanie wed, but shocked Joyce spurned his advances and told him he should behave like a married man.

Close friend Marpessa Deekman, 30, who has known Gulzar for years, said he began to smooth-talk Joyce on a night out in Amsterdam at the end of last year.

Marpessa said: "He was making advances to her and then he kissed her. He said to Joyce, 'I miss you.' But Joyce said to him, 'I'm sorry Jimmy, but you're married now. It's over. I don't want it any more.'"

Marpessa became friends with Gulzar when she helped manage the famous iT gay disco in Amsterdam in the mid-1990s. Gulzar was a go-go dancer there and he and Marpessa used to spend raucous nights trawling around straight and gay clubs with a collection of transvestites and drag queens.

Gulzar was barely making a living as a dancer but he always boasted that one day he would wed someone wealthy.

Marpessa said: "Jimmy always told us: 'One day I am going to be rich and marry somebody famous.' So I don't know for sure if it was real love for Mel B. It was probably just as much a money thing. A few months ago he was telling us how Mel was going to go solo and he would be her manager."

He told us: "I have some very big plans for the two of us."

May 23, 1999- Geri's Self Portrait Auctioned

Geri Halliwell's sketch of herself she drew and signed on MTV's Total Request Live last month was auctioned off on MTV's Cool Crap Catalogue this weekend. The final bidder snagged the portrait for a whopping $1,525.

May 22, 1999- Baby Booties

David Beckham has had the world's smallest football boots made for his son Brooklyn.

Craftsmen spent days making the tiny Adidas Predators just like his dad uses, and he wore them for the first time on Sunday as he watched United, with Victoria Adams, clinch the Premiership title against Spurs.

Brooklyn's red United shirt also had his dad's name and No 7 on the back. A United insider said of the 10-week-old's footwear: "If they were a good luck charm then they certainly worked."

May 22, 1999- Josie's Kids of Courage

On the day celebrities wept with emotion, little heroine Josie Russell simply couldn't stop smiling. Sitting to her right was her heart-throb, Boyzone's Ronan Keating. To her left were her Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Victoria Adams. Across the way soccer star Michael Owen gave her a smile and a nice big autograph.

She was hugged by Chris Evans and Sir Paul McCartney, who asked: "How are you, my love?" Twelve-year-old Josie, whose bravery moved the nation when mother Lin and sister Megan were murdered, was joyfully dazed.

"This is fantastic," she said. "I've got a picture of Ronan on my wall - now I'm sitting with him. All my school friends will be so jealous. I've got everyone's autograph. Michael Owen was lovely and put his arm around me." Yesterday Josie saluted other children as inspirational as herself.

She became an honorary Spice Girl for the day to join Posh and Baby in presenting the Pride of Britain's three courageous children awards. Backstage the two singers talked her through her routine. Emma encouraged her saying: "You've got to help us now, Josie."

As presenter Carol Vorderman announced the category Josie took a deep breath and said "Here goes" and walked hand in hand on stage with Emma and Victoria.

She read out the names of the winners: Lucy-Rae Tamulevicius, Sarah Dinsdale and, posthumously, Rhys and Charly Daniels.

Their stories moved many of the stars present to tears and left Posh Spice overwhelmed. Victoria said: "I just hope that my little boy Brooklyn grows up to be half as strong as these people here today.

"I feel very proud to be here with all these winners."

Baby Spice Emma said: "It is lovely to give awards to children like this who deserve them."

Lucy-Rae, 11, was the first recipient. She suffers from a rare form of cancer, neuroblastoma , which affects the nervous system, but has overcome her illness and painful chemotherapy to pursue her great love of dancing , and even go abseiling.

She was nominated by her aunt and "second mum", 42-year-old Anne Barber. She said: "We are all so proud of her. We didn't tell her she had won until this week and she was totally bowled over. She is the sort of girl who would never tell you if she was in pain. She just lives for the day and her determination is truly incredible."

Lucy-Rae, from Kent's Isle of Sheppey, was also thrilled to share a table with Ronan Keating. She beamed: "That was brilliant. When I sat down he said to me 'Well done'."

Dad Ray, 47, and mum Ruth, 37, watched with joy. Ruth said: "This has been a very special day. We are very proud of our daughter and we are proud to be British.

"Sometimes Lucy is in so much pain when she comes off the stage, she sheds a silent tear. But she always picks herself up and carries on, setting an example we all should follow."

Barry and Carmen Daniels stepped on stage to accept the second award on behalf of their children Rhys and Charly, who died after a long battle with crippling Battens disease.

As a video showed family portraits of Rhys, seven, and 10-year-old Charly, Emma and Victoria were visibly moved, while presenter Carol bit her lip to hold back the tears.

All around the room celebrities were weeping, from Barbara Windsor and Dr Miriam Stoppard to Mick Hucknall. All went silent as they heard how, towards the end of their lives, neither child could speak, hear or move. They needed round-the-clock care as the illness attacked their nervous system.

Their courage and cheerfulness never faltered and our judging panel wanted to make a posthumous award because of the thousands of nominations which came in for the two youngsters.

Dad Barry, from Epping, Essex, said: "We are very proud to receive this award from The Mirror and we know Charly and Rhys are smiling down on us today."

Carmen said after the ceremony: "It was very emotional. It has really affected us because Rhys and Charly have died recently.

"And receiving something like this makes us feel something positive has come out of this."

Other award went to Sarah, 14, of Hawes, North Yorkshire. She rescued mum Diana when their car plunged into the fast-flowing, freezing River Clough last December. The terrified mother and daughter were trapped as the water flooded in. Diana was upside down unable to free her seat belt with her head submerged.

Sarah managed to flip herself around and drag her mum from under the water and kick open the jammed driver's door. She dragged her to the river bank and then raced across fields for help. Her mum was on stage as Sarah collected her trophy. Diana told the audience how much her daughter deserved the tribute.

Radio 1 DJ Zoe Ball broke down after hearing the tales of bravery.

Wiping tears away 29-year-old Zoe said: "It was just so emotional hearing all the children's stories. I was sitting on the table of a girl who saved her mother's life, and talking to her really affected me. All the stories here have got to me."

Josie, meanwhile, was still smiling.

When the awards came to an end Emma and Victoria left the stage with her. Emma still had her arm around the young girl and saw her back to her seat where her father Shaun was waiting.

Josie said: "I was really nervous but the Spice Girls were really nice to me."

Her dad was chuffed, too, Shaun said it was a mark of Josie's progress that she could come to such a ceremony and present awards alongside two pop stars.

May 20, 1999- Emma and Jade Break Up

Emma Bunton has split up with Damage star Jade Jones after a string of fiery rows according to The Sun. The celebrity couple blamed the split on their hectic workloads.

Emma was photographed in a steamy clinch with a mystery man in London just weeks ago, fuelling rumours the year-long romance was over. Pals thought Ms. Bunton and Mr. Jones were made for each other and predicted marriage. She even took him to Melanie Brown's wedding eight months ago.

Melanie's marriage appears to have hit the rocks as well, leaving Victoria Adams the only Spice Girl in a rock-solid relationship.

She was said to be "distraught" at the latest break-up and has been throwing herself into her career to get over it, having just started work on new BBC film Sleeping Beauty.

A friend told The Sun: 'The relationship just hasn't worked out and Emma decided to call it a day. She is really busy at the moment with her film project so she and Jade weren't seeing a lot of each other. She is pretty upset about it but knows it was the only solution. Emma hasn't had a lot of luck with men and she finds it frustrating."

May 18, 1999- Melanie's Marriage in Trouble

Melanie Brown and her husband Jimmy Gulzar are trying to iron out difficulties in their eight-month-old marriage.

A spokeswoman for the group confirmed tabloid reports Melanie Brown and her husband were living in separate parts of their home in Buckinghamshire.

She also confirmed the couple had seen lawyers about Melanie's wish to take their daughter, Phoenix Chi, to the U.S. while she worked.

"They have been having problems and they're now trying to sort them out," she said.

Melanie married the Dutch dancer in September 1998 after a six-month romance. Jimmy was recruited to shadow her on stage during the Spice Girls' world tour. He is said to have proposed to her after seven weeks.

They married under tight security at a church next to their £2.5m 16th century manor house in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Melanie is now in the U.S. writing and working on solo material away from the Spice Girls.

May 16, 1999- Meningitis Appeal Launched

Victoria Adams has told ITN how becoming a mother prompted her to get involved in a national campaign to eradicate meningitis.

Speaking at ITN's headquarters in London she told how giving birth to baby Brooklyn had changed her view of motherhood. Victoria and fiancée David Beckham have since become patrons of the Meningitis Research Foundation.

She was in the studios to launch the Be Free appeal, dedicated to stamping out meningitis in Britain. Victoria told the throng of reporters, "It wasn't until myself and David became parents that we really realised how serious these things are and we became involved with the charity."

"We just want to do as much as we can to raise awareness and try to get people to give money."

Victoria, dressed in a figure hugging, stylish suit and sporting a spiky new hairstyle, went on to describe meningitis as "every parent's worst nightmare."

Talking about three month old Brooklyn she said, "I worry all the time. That's what my mum told me, she said when you have a baby you don't stop worrying from the day you have the baby until 25 years time, my mum still worries about me."

Accompanied by comedians Hale and Pace she handed over a Scooter signed by David Beckham to be auctioned off to benefit the charity

May 13, 1999- Geri Loosing Chart battle

In what is shaping up to be the mother of all chart duels Geri Halliwell is being beaten by Bozone in the race to get this week's number one, but only by a hair's breadth. Music industry insiders have revealed to dotmusic that Boyzone's "You Needed Me" is squeezing ahead of Geri's "Look At Me".

If Boyzone do make it to number one it will continue what has been an unbelievable year for Irish bands topping the charts. The Corrs, B*Witched, Westlife, and Boyzone have been conducting an all out assault on the single and album charts this year.

Geri will undoubtedly be disappointed if she fails to make it to number one with what is her first solo single since she quit the Spice Girls over a year ago. She will need to keep her fingers crossed for the next two days, including the all decisive Saturday, where fans could easily tip the scales in her favor.

May 12, 1999- Young Fan Passes Away

Emma Bunton has honored a young fan who died from cancer by opening a garden in her memory.

Baby Spice met friends and family of six-year-old Sophie Speakman and buried a time capsule about the youngster. The ceremony took place on Friday at Sophie's school in north London but was kept secret at the family's request.

Emma met Sophie at a Spice Girls concert last September and is said to have been touched by her bravery.