David Beckham faces criticism when talking about growing up ‘in an era where mental health is not talked about’

David Beckham is sharing how much he’s learned about mental health over the years.

“I grew up in an era where, you know, mental health wasn’t really talked about,” the now-retired soccer star, 49.

Said at a Los Angeles screening for the second episode of his new Netflix documentary series, Beckham.

“And that I suppose is the one thing I take from this documentary is how important mental health is.

A particular pain point for Beckham was revisiting his 1998 World Cup loss.

But he said discussing it in his documentary “made me get over certain things and feel better about certain things that have happened, you know.

Whether it was leaving Manchester United or getting sent off in ‘98 or, you know, some of the other things that happened throughout my career. It did make me feel better.”

He explained how the mental health landscape used to be different. “Twenty years ago, people wasn’t talking about or asking, ‘Are you okay?’ Or ‘How do you feel?’”

He continued, “Now, thankfully, people are talking about it. So that’s the one [thing] that I can take from being able to talk about this. On the therapy side, you know, being able to talk about some of the things for the first time, was therapy for me. And I wouldn’t say it gave me closure because I still feel pain from the most moments. But it made me feel better about those moments.”

He added that the documentary impacted his mother as well, sharing that, “she came up to me, she said, ‘You don’t have to feel bad.’ And that, obviously, made me emotional as well.”

Beckham shared that when he got a “very rough cut” of the first two episodes, he and his wife of nearly 25 years, Victoria Beckham, “watched it on an iPad in bed, no frills.”

“We laughed. We cried. And at the end of those two hours,” Beckham said, “We’re exhausted.”

Related: David and Victoria Beckham Enjoy Double Date with Gordon and Tana Ramsay in Spain

“What we’ve done in those last 20 years,” he said, reflecting. “It was just like an emotional journey.”

But, it wasn’t only about healing old wounds, Beckham said, adding that the documentary scored him some points with his youngest son, Cruz, who, after watching the series, said, “‘Dad, I didn’t realize you were really good?’”

Related Posts

Princess Beatrice breaks cover after birth of daughter to announce poignant new role

Princess Beatrice has been seen for the first time since welcoming her second daughter Athena by attending a charity event with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi – where…

Exclusive: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘blood-letting move that’s impossible to repair’

Today marks exactly four years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made one of their most explosive moves since sensationally quitting their royal roles – and one…

Real reason Meghan Markle is suddenly using Sussex name revealed by Palace insiders

Meghan Markle revealed in her Netflix show that she is now going by the name of Meghan Sussex in a nod to her royal title – and…

Meghan Markle offers new glimpse of Archie and Lilibet enjoying ‘best morning’ with Harry

In a brand new video posted to her Instagram page, Meghan Markle offers a glimpse at Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet carrying out a fun activity at…

Warwick Davis’ Hollywood romance with late wife Samantha as he finds love again

Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis has opened up about a new love in his life, more than a year after the tragic death of…

‘I went for lunch with Meghan Markle – what she did after showed her true character’

Journalist Bryony Gordon struck up a friendship with Meghan Markle during her time in the UK – and she has revealed the duchess’s unexpected gesture after they…