Geri Horner's best friend is her husband.

She said: "My husband is my best friend. He knows me inside out, I don't edit myself with him. It was a big learning curve."

The former Spice Girls singer has learned to accept herself for who she is and thinks being happy is the key to looking good.

She said: "Being happy is the best beauty secret. I wish I'd known that when I was 20, I could have saved myself a lot of money...

"I've wasted so much time trying to find-tune who I am but there's something so freeing about being kind to yourself and saying, 'Actually, I'm enough. This is going to have to do.' "

The 'Lift Me Up' singer - who has 10-year-old daughter Bluebell with former boyfriend Sacha Gervasi - loves buying gifts for her spouse.

She told Britain's Grazia magazine: "It's a cliche but it is better to give than receive. I love buying presents: I bought Christian a wartime Jeep for his birthday."

As well as her closeness to her family, Geri is very loyal to her female friends and tries to stay in touch as often as she can.

She said: "I spoke to her today, but I miss Emma [Bunton] a lot and think, 'I can't wait to see her.'

"I don't think anyone uses the phone any more, but I do. It's so important to nourish female relationships."

Though she is most commonly known to people as Geri Halliwell, the 'Look At Me' hitmaker recently insisted that isn't who she is "deep down".

She said: "You know my real name's Geraldine, which my husband and my mother both call me.

"We all materialise at different ages. That's who I am, deep down I am Geraldine Horner."