The world has followed the highs and lows of Posh and Becks since they laid eyes on each other in 1997.
The showbiz power couple, who have been married for over 25 years, met when David Beckham was playing for Manchester United and Victoria was a Spice Girls singer. In 2023, a four-part Netflix show titled Beckham gave fans fresh insight into their love story – and surprisingly covered the rumours of David’s alleged infidelity.
Despite being rocked by Rebecca Loos’ claims of an affair with the footballer, Victoria stood by David’s side and they seemingly worked through their issues. But, according to author Tom Bower’s explosive new book, The House of Beckham, their marriage hit crisis point again later down the line.
The writer claims David and Victoria lived separate lives in 2016, with the former England star even allegedly accusing his wife and her publicist of “waging a media war” against him. According to the book, the couple were so estranged they barely spoke and instead just maintained a “distant business relationship”.
“Although the Beckhams could not hide their separate lives, they stuck together to support the Brand,” Bower claims. His book paints a vastly different picture to that of the Netflix documentary, which was exec-produced by the family. While the pair alluded to the marriage problems in the wake of Loos’ allegations, more recent woes were ignored.
Here, the Mirror takes a look at the cheating allegations against Beckham over the years, from Sarah Marbeck to Danielle Heath.
David has been accused of numerous marital affairs which he has always strongly denied (
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Courtesy of Netflix)
Kissing rumours
Back when Posh and Becks first got together, David was accused of cheating with another woman while Victoria was on tour and pregnant with her first son, Brooklyn. In her 2001 autobiography Learning To Fly, Posh Spice reveals that she saw red when the England footballer called her to say he’d been accused of kissing someone else.
When they next saw each other, Victoria describes how she “went straight up to him and just swung at him, punched him”. “I hadn’t planned it. I hadn’t punched anybody before. Just instinct,” she wrote. “I just felt angry and hurt.” They fled to Lake Como in Italy to work things out, and Victoria decided to believe David and married him four months after Brooklyn’s birth on July 4, 1999.
Rebecca Loos
Five years into their marriage, accusations of David’s infidelity emerged when he was rumoured to have had an affair with his assistant, Rebecca Loos. In 2004, she spoke out about the alleged affair with David in newspapers and had numerous television appearances. “I would always say to myself, ‘Don’t risk your job’ and I knew there was a huge risk involved if I got involved with this man,” she told Sky News.
She claimed they first slept together after they “connected” on a night out with friends, and said they had been sexting up until two weeks before the story came out. Speaking about the Beckhams, she said: “I really hope that they get through it. I think the problems were in their marriage long before I came into the picture.”
But David strongly denied any romantic involvement with his PA. In a statement at the time, he said: “During the past few months I have become accustomed to reading more and more ludicrous stories about my private life. What appeared this morning is just one further example. 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.”
Rebecca went to the press about her ‘affair’ with Becks in 2004 (
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Press Association)
David strongly denied the alleged affair happened (
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Instagram)
When the couple addressed the scandal in the Netflix documentary, it was clear it had a huge impact on their union. Victoria was asked by the director if it was the hardest time in their marriage. She said: “100 percent. It was the hardest period for us. Because it felt like the world was against us. And here’s the thing; we were against each other, if I’m being completely honest. You know, 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 that 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.”
Rebecca, who had been happily living her life away from the limelight before it aired, said she tried to ignore the affair being brought back into the spotlight again but found it impossible. In an interview with Good Morning Britain she claimed the documentary was misleading as it left out details. “It just really bothered me, how he’s played, how we play the narrative and how misleading it is and how it’s making me look like a bad person. And of course, I am also guilty. It takes two to tango,” she said.
She also claimed that David had never actually refuted the affair and highlighted his use of the word ludicrous as a way of avoiding a straight denial. “He’s never denied it. He has said that my claims are ludicrous. Ludicrous is not denying – ludicrous can be truth. It is a term used by lawyers to give to their clients. When they don’t want to admit to the truth. They say use the word ludicrous. It will deflect attention, but almost never denied it,” she said.
Sarah Marbeck
The same year, Sarah Marbeck alleged she had an affair with David, which he called ‘absurd’ (
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Brian Cassey/REX/Shutterstock)
Tom Bower’s book The House of Beckham is released on June 20 (
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INTERNET URL)
Another woman went on to claim she had an affair with David in 2004. Sarah Marbeck alleged she had exchanged sexually explicit texts with the Real Madrid star for up to two years and slept with him in a hotel in Singapore, when David was on tour. But the married superstar called the story “absurd and unsubstantiated” and Victoria told The Sun at the time: “We have been through a lot worse than this, and we’re definitely going to get through this.”
Danielle Heath
That same year, beauty salon owner Danielle Heath also claimed she’d had an affair with David at his home in Madrid. She said they performed sexual acts on each other and told the Sunday Mirror: “David was very affectionate. He loved to kiss and cuddle me and loved it when I did the same to him. It was like he was starved of affection.”
The footballer categorically denied Danielle’s story and a statement by the Beckhams read: “We are sick and tired of people trying to make money at the expense of our family. It is even more distressing when we are expecting our third child soon. The allegations are completely and totally untrue and the matters are now in the hands of our lawyer.” It has been reported David did not sue and the couple came out of it stronger than ever.
Irma Nici
In 2010, the Beckhams threatened legal action against In Touch magazine and a prostitute named Irma Nici, who sold a story claiming David had paid her for sex multiple times. The footballer said at the time: “I have never met Nici, let alone committed adultery with Nici or paid for sex. Irma Nici’s statements have caused me and my family great anguish and emotional distress, and have adversely affected both my personal and professional life.”
A spokesperson for the Beckhams said: “Sadly, we live in a world where a magazine can print lies and believe they can get away with it.” In 2011, a US federal judge in Los Angeles dismissed David’s claim for libel and slander.
Katherine Jenkins shot down claims that she had an affair with David on Twitter in 2012 (
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PA)
The Beckhams have experienced lots of highs and lows throughout their relationship (
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Getty Images)
Katherine Jenkins
Two years later, David was again faced with cheating allegations when rumours emerged on social media accusing him of having an affair with Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins. Katherine took to Twitter to deny the affair, writing: “Dear Twitter friends, I’ve read some horrible rumours on here and want you to know I absolutely deny I’ve had an affair with David Beckham. Just so we are clear I have never been on my own with him and never arranged to meet up. We were out in a group of friends and it was just a normal fun evening.”
A source told Look magazine: “Victoria and David have been through a lot and love each other. There’s no way she’d let the family get dragged into a Twitter soap opera. The rumours are not true, but that doesn’t stop them being hurtful.” David did not speak out about the allegations himself.
