celebrity

There's something Victoria Beckham has never told her parents. It's heartbreaking.

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Just six months after welcoming her first baby, Victoria Beckham had no idea she was about to experience one of her most infamous TV interviews.

In 1999, the 25-year-old appeared on a British talk show called TFI Friday, hosted by UK host Chris Evans. Her then-fiancé David Beckham watched on in the audience as their six-month-old boy, Brooklyn, slept downstairs.

After calling Brooklyn the "world's most famous baby", Evans directed the interview questions towards Victoria's post-natal appearance.

"Is your weight back to normal?" he asked the new mother, who replied, "Yes, it is".

But this wasn't enough to satiate Evans, who then reached under his desk and pulled out a set of scales.

"Can I check? Do you mind?" he asked.

Victoria acquiesced, but her discomfort was clear.

"Oh no, you did this to Geri didn't you," she asked Evans, referring to her then-bandmate Geri Halliwell, whom the host also weighed on television.

"This is horrible," Victoria added before she stepped on the scale.

Watch: Victoria Beckham on 'TFI Friday'. Post continues after video.


Video via Channel 4.
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Now, 26 years later, Victoria has reflected on the moment in her new Netflix documentary, Victoria Beckham, and how the scrutiny towards her body has affected her over the years.

"I was weighed on national television when Brooklyn was six months old," the 51-year-old remembered in the three-part series.

"Get on those scales... Have you lost the weight?" she recounted. "We laugh about it, and we joke about it when we're on television, but I was really, really young and that hurts."

Victoria went on to say that comments about her body led to self-doubt and made her "very critical" of her appearance.

"I didn't know what I saw when I looked in the mirror… Was I fat? Was I thin? I don't know, you lose all sense of reality," she said.

"I didn't like what I saw. I have been everything from 'Porky Posh' to 'Skinny Posh'. I mean, it's been a lot."

For the singer, who felt she had "no control" over tabloid headlines or paparazzi pictures, the one thing she had autonomy over was the way she looked.

"I could control it with the clothing, I could control my weight," the fashion designer said, admitting she was controlled her weight "in an incredibly unhealthy way".

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While Victoria's body image issues heightened in the spotlight, the roots were planted during her school years.

"I didn't look like a lot of the other girls,' she recalled. "That's where I started getting a lot of criticism about my appearance, my weight."

Victoria had won a spot in the theatre school, which her parents, Tony and Jackie Adams, funded by remortgaging their house.

She never confided in them about her struggles with food.

"When you have an eating disorder you become very good at lying," she shared.

"It really affects you when you're being told constantly you're not good enough. And I suppose that's been with me my whole life."

Victoria with her parents Jackie and Tony Adams. Image: Getty.

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In her 2001 autobiography, Learning to Fly, Victoria revealed that her eating disorder intensified during her time with the Spice Girls.

"I became obsessed with checking my reflection to see if my shape had changed," she wrote, adding that Geri Haliwell would encourage her and Mel C to exercise.

"Geri was aware that Mel C and I had been advised to lose a few pounds, so she started motivating us to wake up early for jogging sessions. The conversation then shifted to food. Geri would comment on avoiding sauces, insisting that low-fat options were just as satisfying, and she encouraged me to reduce my food intake."

Things only worsened after the group stopped living together, and Victoria would "survive solely on vegetables".

"I would prepare bowls of steamed spinach, carrots, and mangetout, or sometimes consume an entire family-sized pack of peas in one sitting," she wrote.

During a tour of Japan, Victoria struggled to source her preferred vegetables, which led her "to stop eating altogether, resulting in noticeable weight loss".

Victoria said her eating disorder intensified during her time with the Spice Girls. Image: Getty.

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In 2021, the model called herself a "very fussy eater" while appearing on the Ruthie's Table 4 podcast.

"I like things to be cooked in a very simple way," she said. "I don't like oils and butters and sauces. So to most restaurants, I'm probably the worst nightmare."

Victoria's husband David also appeared in her Netflix documentary, and addressed the scrutiny around women's bodies in the early 2000s.

"People felt it was okay to criticise a woman for her weight, for what she's doing, for what she's wearing. There were a lot of things happening on TV then that wouldn't happen now, that can't happen now," he said.

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"My Victoria that I knew, sits at home in a track-suit, smiling, laughing, having a glass of wine. That started to go purely because of the criticism."

These days, while Victoria is "very disciplined" with what she eats, she doesn't "deny" herself anything.

"I expect a lot from myself being a working mum [with] four children. I work out a lot, I eat very healthily. That's just who I am".

In a separate interview with The Sun, the fashion designer explained that she likes "being strong" by exercising consistently.

"I do the Stairmaster for half an hour on my own before [personal trainer] Bobby Rich and David arrive. Then I do about an hour with them. It sets me up for the day. It's that discipline, it's what I do, and I like routine."

But, she added, she still loves to let off steam.

"To be clear, I also love a drink. David and I like to party… It's about balance."

If you or anyone you know needs support for eating disorders, please contact the Butterfly Foundation National Support Line and online service 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or email support@thebutterflyfoundation.org.au.

Feature Image: Instagram/Victoria Beckham.

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