Emma Bunton posted a rare snap of her eldest child Beau on his 17th birthday on Instagram on Saturday and proudly gushed about the “young man” he has become.
The 48-year-old Spice Girl is normally very private and has often shied away from sharing pictures of her two children in the past to keep them out of the spotlight, but Beau’s birthday seems to have been a reason to make an exception.
The singer, who has two children with her husband Jade Jones – 17-year-old Beau and 13-year-old Tate – proudly posted three rare photos of her tall teenage son, who looks very grown up.
In one snap, Beau appeared to cover his face while posing in a sleek trench coat ensemble, and in another photo, the teenager poses in front of the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
The third photo in the post shows the teenager happily eating seafood. Alongside the snaps, Emma posted a heartfelt caption describing how proud she is of her eldest child.
She wrote to her 1.5 million followers: “Happy 17th birthday Beau. You are the light of our lives, you make us laugh every day and teach us along the way. We love you so much and are so proud of the young man you have become.”
Emma’s celebrity pals, including Giovanna Fletcher and Louise Redknapp, have wished the teenager a happy birthday. The post comes a year after Emma celebrated her son’s exam success and shared a selfie with him for his 16th birthday.
Emma said at the time that she was so proud when Beau turned 16 and included a photo of him holding large birthday balloons with his age on them.
In the past, Emma has refrained from sharing her children’s faces to keep them off social media as she would like to keep them out of the spotlight.
But in May of this year, Emma celebrated her youngest child Tate’s 13th birthday with a sweet post, giving a glimpse into the birthday celebrations on social media.
Emma and her husband Jade, the lead singer of 90s boy band Damage, have been together for 26 years but only married in 2021.
Her son Beau has an Instagram account and last year went public with his relationship with his girlfriend Grace Freeman, the daughter of “Sherlock and the Hobbit” actor Martin Freeman and his ex-partner Amanda Abbington, after Beau tagged her in one of the photos on social media.
Emma has been busy celebrating numerous birthdays recently, including reuniting with her Spice Girls bandmates for Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday in April.
Her post for Beau’s 17th birthday comes just days after she shared a photo of herself snuggled up with one of her babies on social media to mark Breastfeeding Week.
She explained: “Breastfeeding in the early stages was not a walk in the park, but like everything when you are a mum, the tough times are a phase and they pass.
“When we started feeding, it was all very emotional. It was amazing to feel the synchronicity with my baby and I will always cherish that time.”
