HE'S been flying high for two decades as the longest-serving F1 boss, married to one of the most famous pop stars in the world, with a jaw-dropping £440million net worth between them.
But Christian Horner’s sudden sacking by Red Bull - a year on from his sexting scandal with an employee - is claimed to have prompted wife Geri to make a decisive move about their future.
Despite putting on a united front with the 51-year-old when leaked messages revealed his inappropriate behaviour towards a female co-worker, the Spice Girls star has begun seemingly distancing herself from her husband of 10 years.
Now friends of the power couple are worried their worst fears will be confirmed after Christian’s tearful goodbye speech to Red Bull staff yesterday.
A source told The Sun: “Christian is of course desperately sad that his career has ended this way.
"He also had the shock news about his ex wife’s death just a few days before.
"But the emotion he showed during his teary speech was actually about Geri.
“He fears his sacking is yet another crisis for his marriage to face after an incredibly difficult year.
"Geri has already begun distancing herself by going by Halliwell-Horner when writing her books.
"Although she's still totally invested in her marriage, she wants to focus on herself and protecting her own image."
When Christian's sexting scandal was exposed in February last year, Geri put on a very public show of support for her husband - despite it reportedly leaving her "heartbroken" and "utterly humiliated".
She was by his side for the beginning of the Formula One season in Bahrain, with the couple pictured hand in hand, cuddling and even seen sharing an intimate kiss before the race.
But behind the scenes it seems she had already subtly started to focus on herself and cultivating her own brand, separate from her racing boss husband.
We revealed last year that the singer had begun using her maiden name for penning her children's books.
At the time Geri attempted to dismiss any meaning behind the name change, telling The Sunday Times: “That's a load of c**p. It's my writing name.
"I haven't legally changed anything — Horner is the name on my passport."
But the bombshell news of Christian's Red Bull sacking yesterday has reportedly prompted Geri to speed up her plans to claw back her own identity.
Christian fears his sacking is yet another crisis for his marriage to face after an incredibly difficult year
Source
“Geri is the ultimate independent woman known for her girl power catch phrase," our insider said.
"She knows she needs to keep her own identity at the forefront of her mind."
Another source revealed: "She's totally focused on her writing career with kids books and is trying to get the series made into a film.
"Meetings in Hollywood have happened and she's really pushing that. She'll have her head down and be focused on trying to make more of a name for herself there."
Reunion rumours
Geri's image is now unrecognisable from her wild years as Ginger Spice - having swapped her infamous Union Jack dress and red leather platform boots for an exclusively white wardrobe to suit her 'lady of the manor' vibe.
She and Christian share two sprawling country estates in Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire, with mum-of-two Geri seemingly content to spend her time tending to their horses and baking.
The couple share an eight-year-old son, Monty, but are a blended family.
Geri has daughter Bluebell, 19, from her previous romance with a Hollywood screenwriter, and is stepmum to Christian's daughter Olivia, 11, whom he shares with his late wife Beverley, who passed away 10 day ago from cancer.
Despite working hard to cultivate her new sophisticated "clean and ladylike” look, Geri is now said to be "more determined than ever" to make sure the rumoured Spice Girls reunion goes ahead.
Negotiations about what it will look like are now expected to intensify, with Geri at the helm.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede reckons reuniting with her bandmates is a "great opportunity to burst back into the media spotlight and re-ignite interest in her away from just being Mrs Horner".
The Spice Girl reunion is a great opportunity to burst back into the media spotlight and re-ignite interest in her away from just being Mrs Horner
Nick Ede, brand and culture expert
He told The Sun: "Brand Geri is a confusing one – on one hand you have the personality that made her an icon, and for which many people still know her.
"On the other you have the Lady of the Manor who has cultivated a very different persona, from her voice to her style.
"But the world loves Geri as a Spice Girl, and if there was ever a time to remember what Girl Power stands for, it's now."
Geri was, however, a notable absentee from Mel B's wedding last weekend to Rory McPhee at St Paul's Cathedral.
Fellow Spice girl Victoria - the member of the band said to be least interested in reuniting as she's focused on her fashion business, and arguably preoccupied by the ongoing family drama with son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz - was also not there.
Posh was celebrating her 26th wedding anniversary with husband David Beckham, with the pair marking it with a series of loved-up Instagram posts.
Our source said: “It was brutal that in the same week her friends were celebrating relationship milestones, Geri was facing another crisis with Christian.
“She loves him and their life together, but she’s had to make a strategic, decisive move to protect her own image and brand going forward.”
Battle-hardened
Nick believes Geri is battle-hardened enough to handle this latest drama, and may take the opportunity now to lie low and take stock of her relationship and their future.
"Geri has had quite a turbulent life with many ups and downs, and this latest blow to her whiter-than-white persona will be a stain she will want to clean off as quickly as possible," he told us.
"She's been on the publicity trail with her book, but now she has to manage the fallout from her husband's very public and humiliating firing.
"But Geri is very proud of her family and has stuck by Christian before, and I think she will do just that through this latest upset.
"She's riding high on her own personal success as an author both here and across the pond, and her star power isn’t going anywhere."
