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7 revelations from the explosive House of Beckham biography: allegations range from David’s affairs and the couple’s media war, to Meghan Markle’s ‘posh’ envy and boob job advice from Anna Wintour
STORYIshani Sarkar
Investigative journalist Tom Bower’s controversial biography of the Beckhams – The House of Beckham: Money, Sex and Power – just hit shelves last week. Reviews suggest that there’s nothing new to know here, but Bower emphasises that his work looks into the truth behind Brand Beckham as opposed to the “glossy, heavily controlled” image – to quote GB News anchor Camilla Tominey – presented in the recent Netflix docuseries Beckham.
A veteran of the bombshell tell-all genre, Bower is best known for his scandalous unauthorised biographies, including, in October 2022, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors. Per The House of Beckham’s blurb, he hopes to tell an “astonishing story”.
From claims about David Beckham cheating on Victoria Beckham with at least five women, to allegations of media manipulation, here are seven of the most explosive assertions from the book – that Bower claims is not at all “mean”.
1. How many affairs did David Beckham have?
Bower alleges that David “always looked like he was evaluating each woman” he encountered at his agent’s London office, adding that the impression formed by some was that “he was rather creepy”.
The author adds that the football star had affairs with his then PA, Rebecca Loos, as well as model Sarah Marbeck (who Beckham called “Tinkerbell”, per Bower), sex worker Irma Nici, beauty salon owner Dannielle Heath, and Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins. David has denied the allegations, and Jenkins has also denied any involvement with the footballer.
2. Did Victoria Beckham really punch David Beckham in the face?
Bower also writes about the time following Loos going public about her alleged affair with David. The author claims that while David and Victoria put on a “bravura performance” in public, behind the scenes, Posh was “slapping Beckham hard on his face”, as a journalist allegedly saw through a chalet window.
Victoria also wrote in her autobiography Learning to Fly that when she heard rumours of the football star being unfaithful while she was pregnant with their first child, Brooklyn, she “swung at him”.
3. Did the couple feed negative press about each other?
Bower alleges that when cracks started showing in the Beckhams’ marriage in 2016, they turned on each other in other ways, too. Things allegedly got so toxic that each of their publicists “fed negative stories about the other side to their favourite tabloid journalists”, and David accused his wife and her publicist of “waging a media war” against him. Posh Spice also admitted in Netflix’s Beckham that during their worst rough patch, they were “against each other”.
4. Meghan Markle thought she was “posher” than Posh Spice
Meghan Markle also features in the new Beckham biography. Bower writes that Markle “deluded herself that her status in the royal family placed her above Victoria [Beckham] in the social pecking order” and that the Duchess of Sussex was “irritated” to learn that the Beckhams were considerably wealthier than her. The author also alleges that Markle asked the fashion designer for free clothes and handbags – a request that was “vetoed by [Buckingham] Palace for being against their rules”.
When reports emerged that Victoria had given Markle make-up advice, the Duchess of Sussex accused the designer of leaking the story, continues Bower. The Beckhams were not invited to Harry and Meghan’s wedding dinner, which Bower calls their “punishment”, and the Sussexes were not on the guest list for Brooklyn’s wedding, while William and Kate were.
5. Anna Wintour allegedly advised Victoria Beckham to remove her breast implants
The American Vogue editor-in-chief reportedly told the Wannabe crooner to have her breast implants removed – which she confirmed in 2014 she had done – in order to “rebrand her image”, claims Bower. A Vogue spokesperson strongly denied the claim.
6. David Beckham and the alleged Nazi T-shirt
Bower alleges that David once wore a T-shirt with Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s face on it – though, as a photo on X (Twitter) shows, it was actually a hoodie. The footballer’s excuse? “Got shirt in post from American fan.”
7. The Beckhams: stingy multimillionaires
The Sunday Times estimates David and Victoria’s net worth in 2024 at 455 million pounds (US$575 million). Yet despite their phenomenal wealth, the couple is notoriously tight-fisted, claims Bower. Indeed, the couple are such bad tippers, says the author, that Elton John bestowed on them the nickname “the Takums”. Beckham’s refusal to tip a waitress allegedly prompted Loos to expose their supposed affair.
The book also details other allegations, such as Victoria expensing crisps at a photo shoot, the couple getting annoyed at a staffer claiming US$10 for a taxi, David wanting to serve a US$3.8 bottle of wine at a Unicef fundraiser, as well as his concerted efforts to minimise his tax bill.
- Tom Bower’s new book alleges that David Beckham had 5 extramarital affairs, and a journalist reportedly saw Victoria hitting him in the face while the couple put on a ‘bravura performance’ in public
- Other claims include Meghan Markle wanting to be posher than Posh Spice, Anna Wintour advising Victoria Beckham to have her breast implants removed … and then there was David’s Nazi ‘T-shirt’