The Beckhams met in 1997

Once upon a time, before the Beckhams became a massive global brand, there was a young artist called Victoria Adams and a rising football star named David Beckham. At the time, Adams was well known as “Posh Spice” of the Spice Girls and Beckham was reaching international fame for playing on the football team Manchester United, as well as playing for England.

The pair were introduced in the Manchester United players’ lounge, and they quickly became a couple. “When I saw him in the footballers’ lounge, all the other footballers were at the bar, and he was standing and talking to his parents, and I’m very close to my family, and I loved that side to him,” Victoria said in Beckham.

The moment they met, sparks flew

Victoria recently said she would specifically go to the Manchester United games to see David. “Some might say I stalked him, I would say [I went to] see him,” she quipped in Beckham.

She even told British Vogue in 2016 that it was love at first sight: “Yes, love at first sight does exist … It will happen to you in the Manchester United players’ lounge – although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy.”

They got engaged in 1998 and married in 1999

Beckham reportedly gifted his wife 15 engagement rings over the course of their relationship – and that isn’t to say Victoria’s first engagement ring wasn’t extravagant.

Their wedding was held at Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin, which cost US$800,000 to reserve for the event, People reported. The venue has 20 bedrooms, a ballroom and sits on a private 226-hectare estate.

Only 29 people attended the ceremony, while a larger guest list of 230 people attended the reception, People reported.

Their relationship attracted a lot of publicity

Both David and Victoria said they “fancied” each other when they first met, according to People.

The Beckhams proved they mastered power couple fashion in these matching leather outfits.

They wore the matching ensembles to a Versace party in 1999, though the former pop star said the iconic outfits now “haunt” her.

On an October 2022 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Victoria explained that the outfits were uncomfortable, and even inappropriate given the occasion. “I mean, it haunts me. It does haunt me, but I love it,” she said. “It was hot. We were wearing Gucci. It was a Versace dinner, which is inappropriate in itself.”

“It’s the most amazing thing. My first child,” Beckham said when reflecting on Brooklyn’s birth in Beckham.

The couple now share four children

The Beckham children are Brooklyn, 24; Romeo James, 21; Cruz, 18; and Harper Seven, 12.

Victoria and David also appear to be very much still in love. “Still making her laugh with my dancing 26 years on,” David shared on Instagram alongside a photo of the couple dancing at the Beckham premiere.

After the couple renewed their vows in 2017, David told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that they were still going strong despite facing challenges.

“We know each other better than anybody. People have talked about, ‘Do we stay together because it’s a brand?’ Of course not. We stay together because we love each other, because we have four amazing children,” he said. “Do you go through tough times? Of course. That’s part of relationships. It’s part of marriages. It’s part of having children. It’s part of having responsibilities.”