David Beckham has revealed the key to his successful marriage with wife Victoria Beckham.

The former football star, 49, reflected on his relationship with Victoria – who he started dating in 1997 – during an episode of Jason Bateman,

Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett’s SmartLess podcast, which airs on 20 May.

During his conversation with the podcast hosts, shared via People, he reflected on the early days of the romance,

noting that the support that he and Victoria had for each other’s careers is what kept them strong.

“You know, she was a Spice Girl, I was playing for Manchester United, and even when we were going through the difficult times,

we actually had each other to feed off and that was the best part,” he said.

The Inter Miami CF co-owner also recalled how they got together when they were in their early twenties, before having their first child, Brooklyn, a year later. They officially tied the know a few months later in July 1999.

“Obviously we were 21 and 22 when we met. We got married when we [were] 23 and 24 and we had our first son when I was 23, so as soon as we had our first son, Brooklyn, that also added another layer to the family and our responsibilities then were to our son,” he explained.

David also acknowledged that he’s “so very happy” with his life, after playing with multiple football teams throughout his career, such as Manchester United and Real Madrid. He then explained why he feels lucky to have met Victoria at the time that he did.

“I am very happy because I feel very blessed to have had the career that I’ve had and played for the teams that I have and experienced that,” he explained. “And the one thing that I always wanted for me, I was lucky I met Victoria when I met her because I always wanted to have kids young.”

After welcoming Brooklyn in 1997, David and Victoria went on to have three more children: Romeo, 21, Cruz, 19, and Harper, 12.

During his appearance on the upcoming episode of SmartLess, David continued to express how grateful he was to have young children while he was playing soccer.

“I always wanted to have kids that lived through my career with me and I was lucky the three boys all lived through most of the teams that I played for and that, for me, was a really important part of my life,” he said.

David also reflected on working with wife on their 2023 Netflix show, The Beckhams, which looks back on their lives and marriage in the spotlight. He noted that he and Victoria “both get emotional” when discussing the highs and lows of their relationship, which is why watching their documentary was so meaningful to them.

“After watching the documentary, after everything was over and we watched it finally, that’s the one thing that we looked at each other and was like: ‘I don’t know how we got through the last 27 years, but we did and we have an amazing family, we have amazing businesses and we’re happy,’” he said.

This isn’t the first time that David has reflected on the early days of his relationship. During an appearance on SiriusXM’sThis Life of Mine with James Corden in March, the former athlete shared his first impression of his now-wife.

“I really just fancied her. I did. I just fancied her,” he told the host. “I didn’t know what she was like as a person. I just actually fancied her, like most people did at that time, and I didn’t know who I was marrying, who I was going to be with for the rest of my life. I didn’t realise what a strong woman she was and that is what really attracted me to her more than anything.”

After acknowledging that he thought Victoria was “beautiful” when they first met, David described the other qualities about her that he values most, such as her values as a mother.

“I like a strong woman and I like the fact that she works hard. I like the fact that she’s a great mum,” he said. “I like the fact that she looks after me sometimes, most of the time, and you know, we’ve created this life with four amazing children which are the most important things in our life, so that’s why I chose Victoria.”

He went on to praise the ways that she “runs the family” adding: “I think that is the most important thing to me. Because family has always been the most important, and the greatest thing she’s ever given me is my four children.”