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<\/p>\nIT'S a quarter of a century since a chance meeting in the Manchester United lounge between a footballer and a pop star formed the basis of one of the most successful unions in showbiz.<\/p>\n
Just a year after they laid eyes on each other, on a freezing January day in 1998, Victoria Adams stood outside the Rookery Hall Hotel in Nantwich, Cheshire. The 23-year-old better known as Posh Spice posed for photographers with her fresh-faced, floppy-haired fianc\u00e9 David Beckham smiling broadly by her side.<\/p>\n
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After showing off her three-carat, marquise-cut diamond ring to the assembled press, Victoria announced: \u201cI am the happiest girl [in] the world today\u2026 I\u2019m with the man I know I\u2019m going to grow old and wrinkly with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr and Mrs Goldenballs might still be a little way off their golden years, but after four children, 22 years of marriage, and the building of a \u00a3380million empire, the Beckhams boast one of the most enduring celebrity unions.<\/p>\n
Once shown off with matching his \u2019n\u2019 hers outfits and tattooed testimonials of love, the couple\u2019s unity is now signalled through endearing social media posts, a shared excitement for their eldest son Brooklyn\u2019s impending April 9 wedding to heiress Nicola Peltz, and an ability to laugh with one another \u2013 something I\u2019ve witnessed first-hand on a number of occasions.<\/p>\n
Once in 2006, while sitting in a magnificent Italian palazzo, I watched as the megawatt couple held court with beauty writers covering the launch of their Intimately Beckham fragrances in Venice. After the multi-course, Michelin-star-worthy meal was served, David and Victoria worked the room, charming attendees.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone fancies David!\u201d Victoria said, laughing as she glanced over at a pair of female guests gazing admiringly at her husband. \u201cBut people just say I\u2019m funny. Who wants to be\u00a0 the funny one, and not the sexy one?\u201d<\/p>\n David didn\u2019t miss a beat. \u201cI think you\u2019re very sexy,\u201d he said, drawing his wife close. When they first met in early 1997,\u00a0 David and Victoria\u2019s connection was instant.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n While David had pointed out Posh to his Manchester United teammate Gary Neville in the Spice Girls Say You\u2019ll Be There video, saying: \u201cOh I like that one in the little black catsuit,\u201d it was Posh who asked to be introduced to the up-and-coming sports star at a charity football match at Old Trafford. She had gone to the game with footie fan Mel C.<\/p>\n In a letter she composed to her teenage self for British Vogue, Victoria later wrote: \u201cLove at first sight does exist. It will happen to you in the Manchester United players\u2019 lounge \u2013 although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy.<\/p>\n "While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family. (He\u2019s not even in the first team at this stage \u2013 you are the famous one.) And he has such a cute smile. You, too, are close to your family, and you will think how similar he feels to you.\u201d<\/p>\n On July 4, 1999, four months after the birth of their first son Brooklyn, David and Victoria tied the knot at Luttrellstown Castle on the outskirts of Dublin.<\/p>\n Victoria glided down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown with a 20-foot train, accessorised with an 18K-gold Slim Barrett tiara, while her husband and son wore matching all-white tuxedos. Despite his age, baby Brooklyn served as his parents\u2019 ring bearer, and a flag bearing the initials V.B.D. (Victoria, Brooklyn and David) was raised above the castle.<\/p>\n At the after-party, the Beckhams perched, infamously, on gilded thrones before changing into matching purple outfits.<\/p>\n Describing the wedding day as \u201cperfect,\u201d Victoria\u2019s band mate Mel B recalled: \u201cI remember looking at them and thinking these two would be unbreakable. It wasn\u2019t just that they were besotted with each other, it was the fact they could make each other laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n The newlyweds had plenty to smile about. In 2000, David was made captain of the England squad and in 2002, the couple welcomed their second child, Romeo.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tumult was to follow, however. In the wake of Geri Halliwell\u2019s departure from the Spice Girls and disappointing sales of their third album, Forever, the band went on indefinite hiatus, and Victoria\u2019s early 2000s solo career failed to hit the high notes.<\/p>\n Worse was to come in 2004, when David\u2019s former assistant Rebecca Loos claimed that she\u2019d had an affair with the sporting star, who was now playing for Spanish side Real Madrid.\u00a0<\/p>\n David furiously denied the claims, which reportedly left Victoria devastated \u2013 however the couple were determined their marriage would survive. In an interview with Vogue in\u00a0April 2008, Victoria reflected on how they dealt with the allegations: \u201cYou know, I love and trust my husband 100 per cent,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my job to protect the family. We have a very nice, positive energy around us as a family and if it\u2019s not positive and nice, I don\u2019t want to know about it.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple added third son Cruz to their brood in 2005, and that same year, Victoria made her first inroads into the fashion industry with a denim range she designed for Rock & Republic. At the Los Angeles launch, she told me: \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy, but I don\u2019t want anyone\u2019s sympathy. I know some people don\u2019t want to believe it, but we really are happy. Everything about my life is good.\u201d<\/p>\n Two years later the family moved to America, when David signed with Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy. Speaking to them at an event at Los Angeles celebrity haunt Soho House, it was clear that the transatlantic move had brought them closer.<\/p>\n Victoria smiled when she talked about her husband. \u201cWe\u2019re soulmates,\u201d she told me. \u201cYou go into a marriage knowing there are going to be ups and downs. We\u2019re in the public eye so we\u00a0have more to deal with than most. We accepted that years ago. We love each other, and we\u2019re so lucky to have one another\u2026 It\u2019s just about us and the family.\u201d<\/p>\n In July 2011, four years after their arrival in the City of Angels, daughter Harper completed the Beckham tribe, and according to David, their daughter\u2019s arrival heralded \u201can amazing time for our family\u201d. <\/p>\n Loved by the Hollywood glitterati, Brand Beckham was firmly on the ascendant, but at the end of David\u2019s five-year LA Galaxy contract, he announced a move to French team Paris Saint\u2013Germain, with the former England captain officially retiring from professional football later that year.<\/p>\n David\u2019s decision to hang up his boots signalled the end of an illustrious 24-year career that he\u2019d embarked upon as a shy, prodigiously talented 17 year old, and many wondered how this seismic life shift would impact the Beckham marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was not an easy decision to make, but to me and the children he will always be an amazing sportsman and a devoted husband and father,\u201d Victoria said at the time. \u201cWe are all excited about the next chapter in our lives and the adventures we will explore as a family.\u201d<\/p>\n And despite saying goodbye to his playing career, David had no intention of sinking into obscurity. Having returned to London in 2013, Victoria was able to focus on her fashion business, while David amassed millions in endorsement deals, and worked to establish a new MLS team in Miami. And with their children growing increasingly independent, the couple also worked to establish a \u201cnew normal\u201d in their marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t realise how hands-on Victoria and David have always been as parents,\u201d a friend of the couple tells Fabulous. \u201cYes, they had help, but they did most of the grunt work themselves. <\/p>\n "When Harper was younger she couldn\u2019t sleep by herself, so David would lie\u00a0in her room for hours, and Victoria was very involved with the schools. Raising four kids is no walk in the park, and it\u2019s only in the last few years that they\u2019ve got some of that time back.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, rumours of marital discontent persisted, and in 2018, the couple were forced to deny speculation that a divorce announcement was imminent. The pair\u2019s camp slammed the \u201cfake social media news\u201d, adding: \u201cThis is all very bizarre and an embarrassing waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who know the couple well insist the claims were off the mark. \u201cTheir families are entwined, Vic is close with David\u2019s mum Sandra, and David considers his wife\u2019s relatives\u00a0as his own,\u201d the source says. <\/p>\n \u201cOf course they\u2019ve had ups and downs, like any couple who\u2019ve been married for a long time, but they\u2019re not the sort of people who give up easily. They\u2019ve always known that what they have is special, and that it\u2019s worth fighting for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A vow renewal ceremony consolidated the couple\u2019s commitment to one another. \u201cWe did throw a lot at [our first wedding],\u201d David admitted. \u201cWe have renewed our vows since then and it was a lot more private \u2014 there were about six people there.\u201d<\/p>\n The Beckhams have \u201creached an enviable stage of calmness in their relationship,\u201d therapist and relationship expert Sally Baker tells Fabulous. <\/p>\n \u201cIt takes work and unrelenting effort to weather the storms that can sink a marriage, and it means that, whatever David and Victoria are doing and wherever they are in the world, there is a part of them that focuses on identifying as an intimately and romantically involved couple. The longevity of their marriage shows its importance to them. They make a consistent effort to put family life at the centre of their priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re in a really great place,\u201d the friend reveals. \u201cThey\u2019ve relaxed into their marriage and learned not to sweat the small stuff. They keep saying that they can\u2019t wait to be grandparents.\u201d<\/p>\n When they\u2019re not talking weddings with Brooklyn and his fianc\u00e9e \u2013 a union they\u2019re \u201cover the moon delighted with\u201d, their friend says \u2013 the couple enjoy family dinners prepared by amateur chef David, though they have different tastes in food. Recently, he said: \u201cWhen I\u2019m eating something great I want everyone to try it.<\/p>\n "Unfortunately I\u2019m married to someone that has eaten the same thing for the last 25 years. Since I met her she only eats grilled fish, steamed vegetables, she will very rarely deviate from that. The only time she\u2019s probably ever shared something that\u2019s been on my plate was actually when she was pregnant with Harper and it was the most amazing thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The couple love watching TV shows in bed, with Victoria revealing they enjoyed Fleabag. Once described by friend Eva Longoria as \u201cthe funniest person alive\u201d, Victoria is comfortable showing her playful side, and she and David regularly trade hilarious barbs on social media.<\/p>\n Comparing his footwear to the boots worn by a Beauty And The Beast character, Victoria wrote: \u201cGaston wants his boots back @davidbeckham.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo my wife decided to post before asking me or cropping my last minute shoe option,\u201d David replied, adding the payoff: \u201cRevenge will be sweet @victoriabeckham.\u201d <\/p>\n His retaliation was a dish served cold. She posted an image of a packed lunch with a note from David that read: \u201cEnjoy lunch ****hole. Come home happier,\u201d plus a smiley face and: \u201cLots of love, you know who.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While on BBC Radio 4\u2019s Desert Island Discs, David shared his best relationship advice: always communicate. \u201cWhenever we\u2019ve come up against tough times, we know each other better than anyone knows us, so we talk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/TM-comp-sussexes-beckhams-1.jpg\")
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