She hasn't spoken to her family in years and they publicly talk about the rift so I doubt they know anymore than anyone else. It is weird that she was so ill one day before but made it to the final night..I can't imagine her missing it unless something was seriously wrong

I'll echo what I've posted on another thread:
I really hope Mel gets the help she needs if these stories are correct. Domestic abuse is in my opinion the one of the worst crimes, you can rarely tell when the abuse is happening and often the manipulation is subtle at first. I'm so saddened about this. I felt it was strange on Saturday when Andrea avoided the fairly obvious 'get well soon line', I've read a couple of articles stating they were 'constantly texting' all throughout Saturday. I wonder if Andrea knew...he certainly had a determined forceful look in his eyes on that Saturday, 'I'm doing this for both of us' he said in one of the VTs.

Does anyone else think it an odd coincidence that her estranged mother's name is Andrea? I wonder if that made her feel even more connected to Andrea, sounds really strange to say it, but I think it was very important for both of them that they found each other.

Just going to re-post from another thread:

Jeez Louise what a load of crap being spouted on here.
Mel has a problem with her left eye - it's obvious if you're observant. She spoke about it briefly when she was on the Jonathan Ross show some weeks back.
Many illnesses can result in face swelling and a bruised appearance. To jump to the conclusion that she is the victim of domestic abuse is ridiculous.
It is even more ridiculous to suggest that because she is a 'strong woman' domestic abuse couldn't happen to her. Actually, that's more than ridiculous it's a dangerously ignorant statement. Strong people suffer domestic abuse all the time. It's not the domain of the weak. Educate yourself.

Her sister sounds like a right drama queen arsehole. IMO.

I don't agree with public spats & airing dirty laundry on Twitter etc but in this situation, I can understand her sister's desperation. We don't know what is going on, we can only speculate based on what has been picked up on by the media (the bruising, not wearing her wedding ring, his history with an ex-girlfriend, her family not liking him etc). If, and this is a big if, he has been abusing her in some way, you can chalk it down that her family have known or suspected him of this behaviour for some time & therefore it's understandable that they dislike him and are now desperately worried about her.

For the record, I have always liked them as a couple. She is a very strong woman & has always looked very happy with her family & very much in love with her husband so I'm still holding out hope that there is a more innocent explanation to all of this. I do think though, that if there was an innocent explanation, there wouldn't be so much 'mystery' surrounding her illness. Also, the missing wedding ring is a big indicator. If she hadn't worn a ring on her other hand, I'd have just thought that maybe her fingers were swollen or something but she was wearing a ring on her other hand so there's that theory out the window.

Then again, if she had been attacked, I wouldn't have expected to see her back on TV so soon because surely she'd be feeling quite delicate & down; not just physically but emotionally, so that's quite shocking too. We'll just have to wait & see what unfolds.

I don't do twitter so haven't seen all the "informed speculation" It's just too Big Brother (as in Orwellian) for me. It didn't take long for me to find out that Mel has been estranged from her mother and sister for some time. I'm guessing there is a reason for that and it is nobody's business. Therefore, in my opinion, her sister airing her views publicly is distasteful, to say the very least.

She did seem less energetic and tired plus the small cuts on her arm. Also wasnt on Xtra Factor, she probably didn't want any questions about her disappearance.

I hope she is okay

That family are so disrespectful of Mel's privacy. There must be a reason why Mel doesn't want to get involved with them... especially putting her career at risk by these stupid messages to Simon via Twitter! They are awful