Some of those close to David Beckham have made a surprising claim about how Victoria Beckham impacted his legacy.
There’s been a lot of long overdue love for Victoria Beckham in recent weeks. And
with good reason.
The Spice Girl’s Netflix documentary has finally allowed the world to see the wickedly self-deprecating sense of humour lurking beneath that famous pout. And
the relatable insecurity that lingers beneath her fashionably confident strut.
For the first time, Beckham talks openly about the humiliation of her body becoming
tabloid fodder, being weighed on live TV six months after giving birth to her first child,
and her private battle with an eating disorder.
But there were some topics – including husband David’s rumoured affair with Rebecca Loos, and the rift with their son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz – that did
not make the cut.
That’s the downside of a celebrity-produced documentary: you’re always going to get
an airbrushed account of someone’s life.
However it’s certainly not the case with Tubi documentary Becoming The Beckhams,
which offers a deep dive into the couple’s time in the spotlight without skipping over
the tough stuff.
There’s footage of David detailing his displeasure over the media coverage of the
alleged relationship with Loos (which he has always denied), complaining that stories
labelling Victoria a bad mother had been particularly distressing.
Becoming The Beckhams also gives greater insight into some of the commentary
that left Victoria feeling so vulnerable and criticised.
David has also copped his share of negative press, blamed for ruining England’s
chances at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, with effigies dressed in his football kit strung
up by furious fans.
At one stage David’s manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, even
blamed Victoria for his star player’s problems on the pitch, suggesting she had
coached him to chase fame rather than soccer balls.
“I think the big problem for me, and I’m a football man really, he fell in love with
Victoria,” Ferguson said at the launch of his autobiography. “That changed
everything.”
Footage of the couple doting over their son Brooklyn has also become particularly
poignant. Brooklyn was notably absent from his mum’s Netflix doco. He was also
MIA from David’s 50th birthday celebrations in May, and has not attended Victoria’s
recent fashion shows.
When asked what he thought of the documentary at an event in New York, Brooklyn
turned his back on a reporter and walked away.
The estrangement supposedly comes on the back of tension between Victoria and
her daughter-in-law. Rumour has it the designer was upset that Peltz wore a
Valentino gown for her wedding rather than one of her own creations. Both women
deny any ill-feeling was caused by that decision.
As a guest on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast – where stars dish all sorts of
dirt about their personal lives – Victoria glossed over rift rumours, insisting the family
was “close”.
She also deftly dodged leading questions about the toll of constant speculation about
her marriage of 26 years.
“We’ve had so much thrown at us and we’ve always just been there together and just
ridden the damn storm,” she explained.
Unfortunately, Cooper didn’t directly ask about Peltz.
But fans believe Beckham gave her daughter in-law some subtle shade during an
appearance on Andy Cohen’s radio show. After insisting that she was a girl’s girl,
Beckham told Cohen: “I mean you’ve got to be a real a*****e for me to not get on with you if you’re a woman.”
And once you’ve watched Becoming The Beckhams it’s hard to disagree.
