Dave Hughes dishes on Mel B’s shock engagement to longtime hairdresser

Dave Hughes has expressed his confusion that his Masked Singer co-star Mel B is marrying the hairdresser she worked with on the show.

News over the weekend that Spice Girl Mel B is engaged to her longtime hairdresser Rory McPhee came as a surprise to many – among them, her former Masked Singer Australia co-star Dave Hughes.

Hughesy revealed this morning on 2Day FM’s Hughesy, Ed & Erin breakfast show that he had no idea the pair were in a relationship, despite spending a lot of time with both of them while filming The Masked Singer earlier this year.

“His name is Rory – he’s her confidante, her best friend, and a man I got to know when Mel B was filming The Masked Singer this year. He was always in her dressing room. I would come in quite often and hang out with Mel B,” he said.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Mel B and hairdresser-turned-fiance Rory McPhee.

McPhee and Mel B have appeared on each other’s social media accounts frequently in recent years – but always in a professional capacity, as McPhee was shown styling the Spice Girl’s hair for TV appearances and public events. The Sun reports that the pair have in fact been a couple for the past three years.

Hughesy’s co-host Erin Molan asked if he ever saw the pair act in a manner that suggested McPhee was more than Mel B’s hairstylist.

“No, not that I saw. Maybe I wasn’t looking close enough. I’ve got to be honest – I didn’t realise they were a couple. I thought Rory was her employee; that it was a professional relationship,” he said.

Confusion about their relationship aside, Hughes was full of praise for McPhee, who he described as a “great guy” devoid of the ego of some of Mel B’s previous partners, such as ex-husband Stephen Belafonte and actor Eddie Murphy.

Hughesy with Mel B, Abbie Chatfield and Chrissie Swan on the latest season of The Masked Singer.

“He would always talk sense. He’s very measured; he’s not an ego guy – I know her previous boyfriends have been ego guys. I would occasionally try to give my wisdom to Mel when she was annoyed about things, and I remember Rory at one point going, ‘Listen to him. Listen to him, Mel,’” he said.

The Sun yesterday broke the news that Mel, 47, is engaged to the 36-year-old Leeds hairdresser. The couple are yet to publicly comment on the engagement, but The Sun reported that Rory had proposed to Mel with a $177,000 champagne-coloured diamond ring at the UK’s luxury country hotel Cliveden House.

Mel B and Rory (right).

Hughesy: ‘I thought he was her employee.’

“Mel is so happy and this is such a big deal for her because she has been though such a lot,” a source told The Sun.

“It has taken a huge amount for a man to get her to trust him and to believe in love again.

“Rory is from her home town, Leeds. He’s known her for years. He’s the absolute opposite of so many of the guys she’s had relationships with.

“He is a really normal, down-to-earth guy, with good morals who has worked incredibly hard to build his own business and a family business. He’s not flash or interested in the limelight.”