It all started in 1996, when David Beckham caught a glimpse of the Spice Girls’ video for the song “Say You’ll Be There.” He immediately liked the brunette in the sexy catsuit, who had actually grown up in England, within 15 minutes of him.
They wouldn’t meet for another year, but when they did, a celebrity super couple would form, right up there with the likes of Bennifer and whatever people are calling Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce this week. As their romance is discussed in Beckham, the upcoming four-part documentary exploring his life, here’s a look back at their love.
1997: David and Victoria meet at a soccer match
It’s at a charity soccer match that the future Posh and Becks first gravitate towards one another. As Victoria would recount in a September 2016 letter-to-her-younger-self piece for British Vogue, she is a little drunk but with it enough to realize that she wants to know more, so she gives him her number when he asks for it.
“While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family,” she wrote. “(He’s not even in the first team at this stage — you are the famous one.) And he has such a cute smile. You, too, are close to your family, and you will think how similar he feels to you.”
Both explain in the new doc that they “just fancied” one another from the start.
January 1998: David and Victoria get engaged
Their courtship didn’t take long because when you know, you know. Of course the press is excited, in part because the Spice Girls are huge and ushering in the “girl power” era.
It is in June of that same year that Victoria tells David she’s pregnant with their first child. His team is getting ready to play Argentina in the World Cup — they would lose the game after he was red carded — but she knows he will be super happy, and he is.
March 4, 1999: Posh and Becks become parents
Son Brooklyn is reportedly named after the place Victoria was on tour with the Spice Girls when she found out she was pregnant. When the baby is born at Portland Hospital in London, David jokes that he has “his dad’s legs.”
July 4, 1999: David and Victoria Beckham are married
In a ceremony that is, as Victoria will say later, much more intimate than it looks, the two exchange vows. The wedding at Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin has a guest list of big names, including other Spice Girls, his teammates on Manchester United, Elton John and George Michael, as well as thrones for the bride and groom. Brooklyn is the ring bearer.
February 2002: David and Victoria Beckham confirm they are expecting another child
There had been whispers that the celebrity couple was going to add another family member, and they confirm it in a statement. It notes that “Brooklyn is also really looking forward to having a little brother or sister to play with.”
September 1, 2002: The Beckhams welcome their 2nd baby
Romeo Beckham arrives. David tells press outside the hospital, “It’s always nerve-wracking having a child but it is the most beautiful thing in the world. Victoria is fine, she’s sitting up in bed chatting. She feels great. I feel great too.”
April 2004: David’s former personal assistant, Rebecca Loos, alleges that they had an affair
Loos, who began working as Beckham’s assistant in 2003 and has since been fired, tells British tabloid News of the World that the two had a torrid love affair after he made the first move. “I think the problems were in their marriage long before I came into the picture,” Loos says. “I in no way intended to break up their marriage especially when there are young children involved. I hope they stay together.”
As he has responded (and would respond) to similar allegations, David denies it.
“During the past few months I have become accustomed to reading more and more ludicrous stories about my private life,” he says. “The simple truth is that I am very happily married. I have a wonderful wife and two very special kids. There is nothing any third party can do to change these facts.”
While Victoria stays silent at the time, she would say three years later, that it was “a really tough time.”
“No one said marriage was going to be easy,” she says in W magazine. “Yes, there have been bumps along the road. But the fact is we’ve come out of everything we’ve been through stronger and happier.”
August 2004: David and Victoria announce they’re expecting a 3rd child
“This is fantastic news,” the couple says in a joint statement, per Today. “We are both absolutely delighted. We are planning to have the baby in Spain.”
February 20, 2005: The power couple welcomes a 3rd baby
The new little one, Cruz, is born in Spain to a mom and dad who are both worldwide stars.
“We’ve got a baby boy. His name is Cruz,” David tells reporters. “He is beautiful. He is in there with his brothers now and he is very happy.”
2009: David and Victoria seem to confirm their relationship is going strong
In July, the two wear very little and pose lying on top of each other in a high-profile ad for Emporio Armani. Two months later, the heavily-tattooed David adds his wife’s name in ink to his athletic physique — one of multiple times he’s done so.
January 2011: The Beckhams announce that they’re expecting a 4th child
Almost six years after they welcomed their third son, the news comes as a happy surprise to the world. “Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are very excited about the arrival of their new brother or sister,” a rep for the couple confirms.
July 10, 2011: Daughter Harper Seven is born
It finally happens — the Beckhams welcome a baby girl. “Having a daughter is a whole new thing,” David says on social media. “Having pink in the house, having lilac in the house… and you have to be a lot more delicate with girls than boys and I’m not used to that, so it’s a whole new experience.”
June 2015: Victoria denies rumors that she and David are having marital problems
In an interview with Grazia, Posh says that her marriage is not in trouble.
“I am blessed to have a wonderful husband, and beautiful, healthy, happy children,” she says. “Yes, we travel a lot with our respective businesses and charitable commitments, but we always make time for each other as a couple and as a family.”
January 2017: David reveals that he and Victoria have renewed their wedding vows
Becks says he and Posh said “I do” for a second time at a smaller ceremony, with only about six guests at their home.
“Of course you make mistakes over the years, and we all know marriage is difficult at times,” he tells BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. “It’s about working through it.”
He adds, “People have talked about, ‘Do we stay together because it’s a brand?’ Of course not. We stay together because we love each other, because we have four amazing children. Do you go through tough times? Of course. That’s part of relationships. It’s part of marriages. It’s part of having children. It’s part of having responsibilities.”
June 2018: Victoria and David call rumors of a divorce ‘fake news’
A day after online chatter that the Beckhams are on the verge of a split, they attempt to dispel them.
“There is no impending statement, has been no statement and there is no divorce,” they say through a rep for her. “What nonsense. Fake news fueled by social media. Embarrassing for the sloppy outlets who have chosen to write such rubbish.”
April 9, 2022: Brooklyn Beckham gets married
David and Victoria are front and center as their eldest son weds heiress and actress Nicola Peltz in an elaborate ceremony at her family’s estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Serena and Venus Williams, Tom Brady and Eva Longoria are a few of the celebrities in attendance. Snoop Dogg deejays at their reception.
February 2023: 26 years in, the Beckhams confirm that they’s still in love
The two have made exchanging heartwarming messages on social media a regular thing, and Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to send some love.
September 8, 2023: David gets a new tattoo in honor of Victoria
The retired soccer star throws it way back by getting “Posh” inked on his hand. His wife, who once had his initials tattooed on her wrist, has explained that she had them removed because they were “bleeding” and “not looking pretty,” not because of anything that has to do with their relationship.
Watch the Beckham trailer:
Beckham premieres Wednesday, Oct. 4 on Netflix.
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