4-10-2023 (LONDON) Victoria Beckham has shared the painful experiences she endured in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding her husband, David Beckham’s alleged affair with Rebecca Loos. Nearly two decades after allegations arose that David and the personal assistant had become close while he was playing for Real Madrid in Spain, Mrs. Beckham disclosed that those months were among the most challenging in her life. She admitted that, during that time, she no longer felt like they “had each other.”
David Beckham himself acknowledged that he doesn’t fully comprehend how they weathered the crisis that unfolded in 2003. Nevertheless, he and his former Spice Girl wife knew they had to “fight for their family.” They both felt as if they were “drowning” when their high-profile marriage was the subject of headlines for months.
The former England captain also shared that he “felt physically sick every day” as he and Mrs. Beckham grappled with the battle to salvage their marriage.
This week, the couple attended the London premiere of a four-part Netflix documentary titled “Beckham.” The documentary chronicles David’s life from his childhood to his latest role as co-owner of the US side Inter Miami. The premiere was a star-studded affair with their four children – Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper – in attendance, along with Brooklyn’s wife, Nicola Peltz, and Romeo’s girlfriend, Mia Regan. The guest list included celebrities such as James Corden, Tana Ramsay, Gary Neville, Alexa Chung, and Steve Bruce. Following the premiere, Beckham hosted a lavish party at The Twenty Two club in Mayfair.
This glamorous event seemed a world apart from the challenging days in Madrid, which the couple decided to speak about because they wanted to appear authentic and, as they now feel, have “nothing to prove.”
During a forthright interview in the final episode of the documentary, Mrs. Beckham, at the age of 49, appeared to struggle to hold back tears when asked if it was the most challenging time in their marriage. She replied, “100 per cent,” adding, “It was the hardest period for us because it felt like the world was against us. Here’s the thing, we were against each other, if I’m being completely honest. Up until Madrid, sometimes it felt like us against everybody else, but we were together, we were connected, we had each other. But when we were in Spain, it didn’t really feel like we had each other either. And that’s sad. I can’t even begin to tell you how hard it was and how it affected me.”
David Beckham made global headlines when his alleged relationship with Rebecca Loos was revealed in the now-defunct News of the World newspaper. At that time, Victoria Beckham had chosen to stay in the UK so that their young sons, Brooklyn and Romeo, could continue their education there. This decision left David feeling isolated, and he admitted to struggling during that period.
David reflected, “When I first moved to Spain, it was difficult because I had been part of a club and a family for my whole career, from the age of 15 to when I was 27. I get sold overnight, the next minute I’m in a city, I don’t speak the language, and, more importantly, I didn’t have my family. Every time that we woke up, we felt there was something else… we both felt at the time that we were not losing each other but drowning.”
When asked about how their marriage survived, David Beckham admitted that he doesn’t know how they got through it but emphasized the importance of fighting for their family. He said, “Victoria is everything to me, and to see her hurt was incredibly difficult, but we’re fighters, and at that time, we needed to fight for each other, we needed to fight for our family. And what we had was worth fighting for. There were some days that I would wake up and think, ‘How am I going to go to work? How am I going to walk onto that training pitch? How am I going to look as if nothing’s wrong?’ I felt physically sick every day when I opened my eyes, ‘How am I going to do this?'”
The crisis prompted Victoria Beckham to relocate to Madrid, where the couple purchased a £3 million home which she personally decorated. During their time in Madrid, their third son, Cruz, now 18, was born. Despite establishing a home for her family in Madrid, Victoria admitted that she was unhappy about leaving the UK. She revealed, “As soon as I could get the kids in school, we then moved full-time. Did I resent David? If I’m being totally honest, yes, I did. It was probably the most unhappy I have ever been in my life. It wasn’t that I felt unheard, because I chose to internalize a lot of it, knowing that he needed to focus.”
Both Beckhams described their time in Madrid as a “nightmare” and “an absolute circus.” David mentioned that even the school run was “live on Spanish TV.”
The couple believes that the documentary, featuring never-before-heard anecdotes from David’s parents, Ted and Sandra, Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Neville, and David’s best friend Dave Gardner, served as a form of therapy for them.
Victoria Beckham expressed her relief at moving to Los Angeles, where David played for LA Galaxy, admitting that she felt “at peace.” She explained, “I was so relieved to be going from such a tricky situation in Spain. It (LA) was a place where everything was just so much easier. Easier to find a house, easier to find a school, you don’t have a language barrier. And so for me, it was all my dreams come true. LA was a great place to live; I’ve got my family together, and I let go of a lot of pain. I remember someone saying to me once that LA is like rehab for famous people, that’s why we always see people walking in Malibu in Ugg boots and tracksuits. The schools were great. I definitely felt at peace. Finally, we seemed settled.”
However, Victoria did express her anger when David decided to leave the LA side temporarily to play for AC Milan in Italy to rejoin the England team, following an ultimatum from manager Fabio Capello. She recalled her reaction, saying, “What do you mean, you want to go to Milan? We’ve just moved from one side of the world to the other for you. What I signed up for was us being in LA as a family, so I didn’t expect to turn up in LA, have everything perfect, and then hear you say, ‘Oh, guess what, surprise! I’m going away again.’ I respected his career, I always have done immensely, but not again. I was really upset.”
The final episode of the series captures the couple dancing to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ hit “Islands in the Stream” at their converted barn in Oxfordshire. All four of their children, including their daughter Harper, 12, are featured in these scenes, along with Brooklyn’s wife, Nicola Peltz.
As they approach their 25th wedding anniversary in July, Victoria Beckham reflects on their lives, expressing happiness and contentment. She noted, “There’s an element of you’re passing the baton on a little. And you want that for your kids, wouldn’t you say?” To which David replied, “Yeah, I’m not ready to pass the baton on yet.”
In discussing their children, David Beckham acknowledged the unique challenges they face growing up in a family where “dad is a former England captain and their mum an ex Spice Girl.” He added, “They could be little troublemakers, but they’re not.”
