Sex, power and bust-ups: inside brand Beckham
Evening Standard|June 19, 2024
Tom Bower has skewered everyone from Boris to the royals - now he's turned his lens on Posh and Becks. So how juicy is it really?
Katie Strick
Sex, power and bust-ups: inside brand Beckham

VICTORIA BECKHAM punched her husband David in the face after the first reports of him cheating. She's so tight with money she once expensed some Marks & Spencer crisps during a shoot. And the couple hit such a low-point that they barely spoke.

These are just some of the juiciest allegations made by celebrity biographer Tom Bower in his bombshell new book about the Beckhams, The House of Beckham, branded "a symphony of snide" and "a ghastly portrait" of a couple locked in a devil's bargain depending on which of the early reviewers you ask.

The unflattering biography lands on bookshelves tomorrow and promises to be a study of the Beckhams' marriage, featuring everything from allegations of infidelity to entertaining anecdotes about Glastonbury and family photo shoots. Bower, a former BBC Panorama reporter who has written biographies on everyone from Mohamed Al-Fayed to Simon Cowell, doesn't hold back on painting the couple as vain, power-hungry pair ("they personify the superficiality of contemporary celebrity," he writes) and commentators say it risks denting the British power brand that is Posh and Becks. Wreckage, shame and downfall are among the chapter titles. These are the most explosive allegations.

Posh punched Becks in the face after reports of cheating

There have been various rumours of infidelity during the couple's 27-year relationship, but Bower claims the first slew of rumours - that he called her to admit he'd been accused of kissing another woman while she was pregnant with their first son, Brooklyn, in 1998 - got her so worked up she punched him in the face.

"I hadn't planned it," she reportedly confessed. "I hadn't punched anybody before. Just instinct. I just felt angry and hurt." The couple fled to Lake Como to mend their relationship, and tied the knot four months after Brooklyn's birth.

Five women reported to have had affairs with Becks

Denne historien er fra June 19, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra June 19, 2024-utgaven av Evening Standard.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA EVENING STANDARDSe alt
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The London Standard

Only £65k a month to live like Boy George

The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
The London Standard

Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe

We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment

time-read
3 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
The London Standard

Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase

Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights

time-read
6 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
The London Standard

Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side

Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
The London Standard

Whack the hippy gong-boho's back

It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 26, 2024
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
The London Standard

There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?

As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
The London Standard

'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'

We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease

time-read
4 mins  |
September 26, 2024
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
The London Standard

I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life

Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
The London Standard

Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant

To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 26, 2024
'Healing is a dirty word'
The London Standard

'Healing is a dirty word'

After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis

time-read
5 mins  |
September 26, 2024