David and Victoria Beckham 'lived separate lives' and 'barely spoke' as marriage hit crisis-point

David and Victoria Beckham lived separate lives as their marriage hit crisis-point, an explosive new book claims.

The pair were allegedly so estranged they barely spoke and instead just maintained a “distant business relationship”. The animosity between the couple was so bad eight years ago that each of their publicists “fed negative stories” about the other, author Tom Bower claims.

In an extraordinary twist, Beckham even allegedly accused his wife and her publicist of “waging a media war” against him. But the pair ultimately stayed together and worked through their issues, just as they had after their marriage was rocked the first time by Rebecca Loos ' claims of an affair with the footballer.

David and Victoria Beckham

The House of Beckham book cover

“Although the Beckhams could not hide their separate lives, they stuck together to support the Brand,” Bower claims. Bower’s book The House of Beckham paints a vastly different picture to that of the Netflix documentary, which was exec-produced by David’s production house.

While the pair alluded to the marriage problems in the wake of Loos' allegations, more recent woes were ignored. Serious cracks in the marriage began opening up in 2016 with the couple spending increasingly larger amounts of time apart with David in Miami and Posh in London.

Bower writes: “During London Fashion Week that year, she asked Beckham to return to London for a dinner in her Dover Street shop. By the end of the celebration she must have wished he had stayed in America.

“Morosely, he sat staring at her guests. Some whispered that the two had been embroiled earlier in a foul-mouthed row." Later that evening Beckham was seen at Heathrow taking a late flight to New York.

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham

Two years later, it’s claimed the situation hadn’t improved and in many instances, had deteriorated. By this stage, Bower claims that both Posh and Becks were the subject of negative briefings - by their other half’s publicists.

“Reflecting the acrimony between the Beckhams, the two publicists began to compete rather than collaborate to promote their own client,” the book claims. “Both fed negative stories about the other side to their favourite tabloid journalists.”

One such planted story involved “an extraordinary exchange that had occurred during the Beckhams’ summer holidays” in which Victoria had reportedly told her children: “Daddy’s not a cheat.”

“Reading the newspaper report, Beckham raged that Victoria and her publicist were waging a media war against him,” the book claims. “In reality, he was doing a good job of self-inflicted harm.”

Another low point in the marriage came when David gave an interview to an Australian broadcaster in which he admitted that their marriage was “hard work”. Victoria’s publicist reportedly leaked to a favoured journalist how she was left “overwhelmed by rage and recrimination”.

David Beckham on The Sunday Project

“Not warned in advance, Victoria watched Beckham’s clip…on her mobile with disbelief. ‘It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off ,’” the book claims. “Her husband’s disloyalty baffled her. His truthfulness had destroyed her efforts to conjure up an image of happy families. Why, she sobbed, would David embarrass her?

“Worse still, why could he not understand the consequence of his own stupidity? Why, she wailed, had he become the enemy of her ambition? Without any answers, she fled to a Baden-Baden spa hotel for two days. The trip was to recover her ‘emotional balance’ but she was overwhelmed by rage and recrimination.”

Victoria was later seen looking tearful in Australia which only increased speculation the pair were on the rocks. Bower claims that a publicist acting for the couple then devised a plan to throw the media off the scent.

“To deflect the media’s attention a publicist released CCTV footage showing an attempt by masked burglars to break into the Beckhams’ country home in Great Tew,” Bower claims. The police were reportedly surprised that the CCTV of the crime was released.

Another flash-point was their appearance together at Glastonbury in 2017. Beckham and a small group of friends including best pal Dave Gardner had gone to the festival without Victoria at first as she was arriving later from New York.

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham watch Ed Sheeran perform

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham watch Ed Sheeran

The night before her arrival the group - including married Lady Mary Charteris, as well as a” glamorous Australian bikini model” - had partied until 5am. The festivities resumed at lunchtime the next day “until interrupted by a telephone call” informing them that Victoria had arrived.

“‘There was no hassle and a great mood until she landed,’ complained one of the group,” Bower writes. “With her entourage she headed in a golf buggy through the scruffy campers to the VIP zone. She was furious that her husband had failed to reply to her telephone calls and had dispatched a search party.

“Eventually, David appeared. Within seconds, they were embroiled in a ferocious argument…. ‘They looked quite miserable,’ said one eyewitness, ‘but they managed to pose for the cameras.’”

Victoria, Bower writes, wasn’t keen on Gardner as David’s drinking buddy. The book claims: “Insiders knew about Victoria’s opinion of Dave Gardner and his racy lifestyle. ‘Dreggy,’ she called his party crowd.

“In 2003, she had been particularly unhappy about Beckham being best man at Gardner’s £2 million first wedding to the soap actress and socialite Davinia Taylor. His presence, she complained, increased the financial value of Gardner’s contract with OK! magazine.

Dave Gardner and David Beckham

Victoria Beckham

“Two years after the wedding, Victoria was irritated by the publicity surrounding Gardner’s ‘crisis talks to save his marriage’. His wife had become notorious for lesbian affairs with her Primrose Hill neighbours and treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction at The Priory.

“Their separation and eventual divorce increased the time Gardner and Beckham spent together, especially after Beckham stopped playing professional football. Without the demands of a strict training routine, Gardner had helped fill the vacuum by introducing him to glittering parties.”

The decision to stay together was, in part, the book claims, because both David and Victoria appreciated the importance of being a united front to their brand. [David’s] status and survival would have been washed away without Victoria’s determination to maintain the illusion of a happy family,” Bower writes.

“She steadfastly protected the brand. In return he continued to finance her vanity business. Her tiny fashion house is unlikely ever to be genuinely profitable, but her supporters fully approve her steely ambition regardless of the monotonous repetition in promotional interviews.”

THE HOUSE OF BECKHAM: MONEY, SEX AND POWER by Tom Bower, to be published by HarperCollins on 20th June 2024 at £22. Copyright © Tom Bower 2024.

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