David Beckham and Victoria Beckham attending the 2015 British Fashion Awards.Anthony Harvey/Getty
A new book published details of David Beckham’s alleged affair with his assistant, Rebecca Loos.
David has been accused of cheating on Victoria Beckham with several women, including Loos.
Here’s a timeline of the scandal and what the couple have said since.
2003: David Beckham is seen with a brunette at a nightclub in Madrid.
David Beckham had transferred to Real Madrid that year.Getty/Ross Kinnaird
The affair scandal began with David Beckham’s move to Madrid to play for the soccer team Real Madrid in the summer of 2003.
In September, a few months after the move, Beckham was spotted on a night out with a mystery brunette in Madrid, the Guardian reported.
The person was later identified as Rebecca Loos, his personal assistant in Madrid.
April 2004: Rebecca Loos accuses Beckham of an affair.
Rebecca Loos was Beckham’s personal assistant for his first few months in Madrid.Don Nicholas / Getty Image
On April 4, 2004, the UK’s News of the World newspaper published a story that alleged Beckham had an affair with Loos, who had since been fired as his assistant.
Later that month, Loos gave a tell-all television interview with Sky News’s Kay Burley in which she said they had first slept together the night they were spotted at the nightclub in September.
“I think the chemistry between David and I was so strong, and people were not happy because I was being very unprofessional and he’s a married man,” she said, adding: “We dropped off the other two people in the car and started kissing quite passionately all the way back to the hotel. It was like magnets, pretty amazing.”
Loos also said in the interview she wasn’t afraid of the Beckhams taking her to court.
“There is something I know about him, an intimate part of his body that I think only women who’ve been in bed with him would know,” she said. “So I think if they did want to take me to court, I could easily stand up and say, ‘Well…'”
In a statement published by the Guardian at the time, Beckham denied the allegations.
“During the past few months I have become accustomed to reading more and more ludicrous stories about my private life,” he said. “What appeared this morning is just one further example. The simple truth is that I am very happily married and have a wonderful wife and two very special kids. There is nothing any third party can do to change this.”
April 2004: More women accuse Beckham of cheating.
Victoria Beckham stood by David Beckham during the scandal.Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Soon after Loos came forward, two more women said they’d also had affairs with the famous soccer player.
On April 11, the model Sarah Marbeck told the News of the World she had an affair with Beckham in July 2001 while the soccer star was in Singapore with Manchester United.
“When we made love David told me, ‘I know what we are doing is wrong, but I can’t help it,'” Marbeck said. “The first time he took me to bed, he kissed me everywhere. I looked down and there was David Beckham kissing my breasts. David Beckham!”
Beckham denied Marbeck’s claims in a statement published by the Guardian at the time.
“This weekend a series of even more absurd and unsubstantiated claims have been published about David and Victoria Beckham,” the statement read. “The couple continue to dismiss these stories and they will not be commenting upon them further at this time. Lawyers have been instructed by David and Victoria concerning these matters.”
A week later, a third woman came forward to the British tabloid The People.
Celina Laurie told the publication she and Beckham had a one-night stand in Denmark in August 2002.
May 2004: Beckham criticizes the Daily Mail and News of the World in his first public interview since the reports.
David Beckham in 2004.Ferdaus Shamim / WireImage
Beckham told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’ve made it clear that with two papers the way I and my family have been treated is an absolute disgrace because at the end of the day, I’m a nice person and loving husband and father.”
September 2004: David and Victoria Beckham sue the News of the World over affair reports.
The case was eventually dropped in 2006 when the parties came to a settlement.Mike Marsland / WireImage
“The News of the World was given the opportunity to provide an apology but have chosen not to respond to the couple’s request,” lawyers for the couple said in a statement, the Guardian reported.
The case was eventually dropped in 2006 after the two parties came to a settlement, the terms of which were not disclosed.
News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the News of the World, said in a statement: “The defamation proceedings by David and Victoria Beckham against the News of the World have been resolved on a confidential basis. There will be no further comment.”
The News of the World eventually closed in 2011 amid a decline in advertising and scandals involving accusations of hacking into the phones of celebrities, politicians, and victims of crimes.
October 2004: A fourth woman says she hooked up with Beckham.
At the time, Victoria was pregnant with the couple’s third child.Clive Rose / Getty Images for Laureus
Beauty-shop owner Danielle Heath told the Sunday Mirror she and Beckham had performed sexual acts on each other on two occasions in Madrid.
In a statement, the Beckhams denied the allegations.
“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 it is in the hands of our lawyers,” the statement said.
2007: Victoria addresses the rumors for the first time.
This was a year after the lawsuit had been dropped.Ethan Miller / Getty Images
In 2007, Victoria was asked about the affair allegations during a joint interview with her husband for a W Magazine cover story.
“I’m not going to lie. It was a really tough time. It was hard for our entire families. But I realized a lot of people have a price,” she said.
“David and I got through it together. No one said marriage was going to be easy. Yes, there have been bumps along the road,” Victoria continued. “But the fact is we’ve come out of everything we’ve been through stronger and happier. It’s even better now than when we were first married. After all these years, we can just come home and have a laugh together.”
March 2013: Loos says she regrets the way she addressed her alleged affair.
After a stint on TV, Loos settled down in Norway.Justin Goff / UK Press via Getty Images
Almost 10 years after the scandal, Loos appeared on the British daytime television show “Daybreak” and addressed her alleged affair with Beckham.
She said, “I’m a mother now and married, and knowing what I know now I would definitely have gone about things quite differently,” the Metro reported. “I was young and foolish and very reckless. I didn’t think things through and acted on impulse a lot. I think I regret the impact on everybody. I think I could have gone about it in a kinder way.”
Loos added: “I don’t regret speaking out but I regret the way I went about it.”
October 4, 2023: Victoria says that period was “the most unhappy I have ever been in my entire life.”
Mia Regan, Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Harper Beckham, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham, and Nicola Peltz Beckham attending the “Beckham” UK premiere.Karwai Tang/WireImage
In a new four-part Netflix docuseries about Beckham, Victoria described the alleged affair saga as the “hardest period” of their marriage.
“It was the most unhappy I have ever been in my entire life,” she said. “It felt like the world was against us.”
“We were against each other, if I’m being completely honest,” she continued. “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 like we had each other either,” she said. “And that’s sad. I can’t even begin to tell you how hard it was and how it affected me. It was a nightmare.”
Asked if she resented Beckham at the time, Victoria replied, “If I’m being totally honest, yes I did.”
In the docuseries, Beckham also addressed how the speculation affected his and Victoria’s relationship.
“There was some horrible stories which were difficult to deal with,” he said. “It was the first time that me and Victoria had been put under that kind of pressure in our marriage.”
Beckham is still unsure how he and Victoria survived that time period.
“I don’t know how we got through it, in all honesty,” he said. “Victoria is everything to me. To see her hurt was incredibly difficult, but we’re fighters and at that time we needed to fight for each other, we needed to fight for our family, and what we had was worth fighting for.”
October 21, 2023: Loos slams David Beckham for “making himself the victim” over their alleged affair.
David Beckham at the Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United FC match at DRV PNK Stadium in Florida, and Rebecca Loos walking through a forest in a photo posted to her Instagram.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/Getty Images/Rebecca Loos/Instagram
In a video interview published by the Daily Mail in October, Loos responded to the comments made by the Beckhams in the Netflix docuseries.
Loos said she was completely unaware that the couple had mentioned her in the series, or that the series even existed, until she got a call from a Norwegian journalist.
Loos said: “He’s making himself the victim and making me look like the liar. He’s making me look like I made up these horrible stories, I’m the one that’s made Victoria suffer.”
“He’s the one who decides to lie to her, to say we don’t have to tell my wife. He’s made all those choices,” she added. “If I remain silent, I will be known as the liar.”
Representatives for Beckham and Loos did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
June 20, 2024: “The House of Beckham” details Beckham’s alleged affair with Loos.
David Beckham playing for Real Madrid in August 2003 in Madrid, Spain.Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
“The House of Beckham,” written by biographer Tom Bower, was released on June 20, 2024,. It explores Beckham’s alleged affair with Loos, citing various sources, including magazine articles from the early 2000s.
The book claims that Beckham was lonely in Spain after signing with Real Madrid. He reportedly grew close with Loos when they went for drinks, and they started sleeping together soon after.
“In his suite, Loos discovered that ‘David was a sensational lover — the sex was highly charged and explosive. David’s stamina was extraordinary.’ Repeatedly he said, ‘I know we shouldn’t be doing this but I can’t help it. It makes me so happy,'” the book claims.
It goes on: “Loos would add, ‘He’d been going weeks without sex, trying to stay faithful to Posh.’ One exchange in bed that night impressed Loos. ‘You’re so lucky,’ she said. ‘You could have anyone.'”
The book also claims that Loos decided to go public with the alleged affair after she and Beckham went to Madrid’s Hard Rock Cafe one night with other employees from the management company he was signed with.
The next day, a Hard Rock waitress gave Loos a note explaining that Beckham didn’t tip for the service. When Loos passed the note to Beckham, he allegedly gave his assistant money to pay the waitress to preserve his image.
“After reading the note, Beckham was alarmed. ‘Give her this,’ he said, handing over a thick wodge of euros,” the book added.
Loos reportedly told her friend, PR manager Emma Basden, why she decided to go public about the alleged affair.
“Angered by both the secrecy and the abuse of her loyalty she looked for an opportunity to hurt him. Not least because on their first night in bed he said that she was his first secret relationship. ‘I know I will be up against the most powerful family in the world,’ she told Basden.”
June 20, 2024: “The House of Beckham” claims that Beckham used the names of “Peter Pan” characters to be discreet when talking about Victoria Beckham and his alleged mistress.
David Beckham and Victoria Beckham after a Vogue party in May 2002 in New York City.Mark Mainz/Getty Images
“The House of Beckham” also makes claims about Beckham’s alleged affair with Marbeck.
It claims that the soccer star referred to the women in his life using characters from “Peter Pan.”
“In his texts Marbeck was called ‘Tinkerbell’ and Victoria was ‘Wendy’. On 10 August 2001, Beckham had sent a series of explicit texts to Tinkerbell about his sexual fantasies. Asked for a description of underwear he had bought for her, he replied: ‘It is a surprise. It’s very sexy but very filthy,'” the book claims.
It continues with an explicit retelling of a text Beckham reportedly sent to Marbeck about what he wanted to do with her, involving “candles, champagne, chocolate, cream, strawberries and a massive bed.”
The book adds: “Marbeck kept all those text messages. During their two-year affair Marbeck flew to Leeds in March 2002 to watch England v Italy. In a text he urged her to behave ‘discreetly’ because ‘you have to remember Wendy’.”
Representatives for Beckham did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
