David Beckham was ‘like an addict’ during early romance with wife Victoria, Netflix documentary reveals

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David Beckham was described as being "like an addict" during the early days of his romance with his wife Victoria, it has been revealed in Netflix's new documentary about the footballer.

The couple began dating in secret in 1997 as they were urged they had to keep their relationship "under wraps" as much as possible, leading the footballer to go to great lengths to see the Spice Girls singer.

Gary Neville, who was Beckham's Manchester United teammate at the time, said: "I knew the lengths he was going to to see Victoria and it was a lot, he was like an addict.

"It was like he had to... he would drive four hours to spend 20 minutes with her."

Neville added, "He couldn't kid us, we said 'where were you last night mate?' and he said 'I just went for a drive', what do you mean went for a drive."

Beckham spoke candidly about this period, saying of his relationship with Victoria: "I didn't care when I saw her, how much I saw her, if it was me driving down to London to see her for seven minutes I did it."

What, how, and why?

The couple first met in March 1997 after Victoria and her Spice Girls bandmate Mel C were invited onto the pitch during a Manchester United match.

Victoria explained that she felt a kinship with Beckham immediately because he was close to his family, something she felt was important, and that they both had similarly lonely childhoods.

But Beckham explained the moment he knew he was going to marry Victoria, and it was before they had even met, it was when they saw the music video for the girl group's song Wannabe.

He was watching the music video with Neville, and he said in the documentary: "I turned to Gary and said 'I'm going to marry that one', we were laughing and joking but I said 'no, I'm going to marry that one. The Posh one, the one in the black dress.'"

Neville added: "I suppose most blocks joke about that, 'oh I like her', they don't f***ing end up with them."

In the early days of their relationship Victoria said that she and Beckham "would meet in car parks" and joked "that's not as seedy as it sounds", with her husband also revealing that their first kiss took place when they were sat together in a parked BMW during this period.

They were able to keep their relationship a secret for some time until they were photographed together, at which point they became a cultural phenomenon: Posh and Becks.

From then on the couple were always in the public eye, they became fashion icons in their own right and they have continued to be at the top of the celebrity sphere ever since.

The Beckhams got engaged in 1998 and married in July 1999, and they share four children together: sons Brooklyn, 24, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 18, and daughter Harper, 12.

What else happened on Beckham?

Beckham's relationship with his wife was one of the main topics in the docu-series, and another element of their romance that was brought up was the alleged affair the footballer was said to have had when playing with Real Madrid in 2003. The couple have always denied the claims.

Addressing the claims in the documentary, Beckham said: "There [were] some horrible stories that were difficult to deal with, it was the first time that me and Victoria had been put under that kind of pressure in our marriage."

Victoria said of the time: “It was the hardest period 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 like we had each other either, and that's sad."

She added, "I can’t even begin to tell you how hard it was and how it affected me."

Beckham was emotional when speaking of the period, adding: "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, but it was worth fighting for. Ultimately it is our private life."

Beckham is available to watch on Netflix now.

Read more:

• Victoria and David Beckham finally address alleged affair in new Netflix series (Evening Standard)

• David Beckham documentary: What to expect from new Netflix series (3-min read)

• Beckham, review: A superb portrayal of the footballer, where Victoria addresses his alleged affair (The Telegraph, 3-min read

Watch the trailer for Beckham: