The former Spice Girls singer has spoken about her struggle with the eating disorder, which sees sufferers bingeing on fattening foods and then purging in a desperate attempt to control their weight. Geri admits she was so in the grip of the disease at one point, she thought she might die. After leaving the girl band in 1998 she became good friends with Robbie, who left Take That in 1995, and she says it is one of the most important friendships in her life. "Robbie knew about my bulimia and he advised me to get help," she explained. "He told me to go into rehab and that possibly saved my life. The bulimia would have got worse without it. I will always be grateful to him, always. I am happy and healthy now." Geri, 37, was in tears as she discussed that time in her life, admitting she was cripplingly lonely when she left the Spice Girls. She struggled with not being around her bandmates Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Mel C, and so began to control what she ate. At the time, there were reports she was romantically involved with Robbie. She has dismissed them, revealing they were just very close friends who helped each other through a difficult time. "I was worried I would get fat," Geri told British interviewer Piers Morgan. "I would binge and then felt fatter and would make myself sick. It was awful. I became really close to Robbie after leaving the Spice Girls and it was a very poignant friendship. I was lonely and felt he was the only person on the planet who could understand me because of his experiences with Take That. We understood each other. But I didn’t really go out with him, no."