Secrets of the most successful marriage in showbiz: How the Beckhams get it right
One of the longest-serving couples in showbiz, David and Victoria Beckham have defied the divorce statistics and stayed married through rumours of affairs, two complex careers, four children and a multi-millionaire, multi-location lifestyle that's seen them ricochet between Britain, LA and Spain.
Both separately and jointly successful, and fully committed to their family life, the couple have never publicly criticised one another, or admitted to marital problems.
Appearing on Good Morning America this week, fashion director Victoria was asked what marital wisdom she hoped to pass on to her four children, Brooklyn, 22, Romeo, 19, Cruz, 16 and and Harper, 10.
Surprised, she replied, “Oh my goodness. Marriage wisdom? You know, I don’t know."
She thought further before explaining, “We’re very supportive of each other. He’s an incredible dad and a wonderful husband.
Watch: David Beckham describes movie night at the Beckhams'
“And we have a lot of fun. We support each other with everything that we do...it’s about having fun and enjoying that person’s company.”
“I genuinely love being with him. Which is good, after all these years, she said. “It’s a bonus!”
The three pillars she mentioned, support, being a great parent and partner, and having fun, are all cited by relationship experts as essential to a happy relationship.
The couple have been married since 1999, when their lavish wedding near Dublin featured matching golden thrones and bridesmaids dressed as fairies. Since, they have renewed their wedding vows.
David told Radio 4, "We did throw a lot at it. We have renewed our vows since then and it was a lot more private, there were about six people there in our house.”
Victoria also recently told Evening Standard editor Emily Sheffield more about their domestic life.
"Lockdown was quite a novelty," she said.
"I'm a bit of a cheerleader for the family and I wanted to get up every morning and be positive.
"We flew to Miami on Christmas day, we were planning on spending new year with Brooklyn's fiancée Nicola's parents, but while we were there the rules changed."
The family ended up staying in Miami.
David currently owns and trains the Inter Miami football team, and Victoria added,
"David had so much work to do, it's been his dream, as long as he can remember - it was an incredible time for him, and I was happy he could do that because (lockdown) had been frustrating for him.
"We decided we'd all stay together," she explained, when asked why she didn't return to Britain.
"I was working remotely, just happy we were all together and that we could support him and be part of his journey - what he's doing with that club, it's amazing, we're so proud of him."
She continued: "Myself and David when lockdown happened, none of us knew how long it would go on for - the schools were closed and we said, 'obviously the priority has to be the children'.
"We were working every day and we've got to really focus on our businesses but we wanted the kids to come out of lockdown happy, free spirited - yes they need to do their schoolwork, but we need to be close, we need to communicate, and the most important thing was just to sit and cuddle with the kids, watch movies, have a bottle of wine.
"Just spend time together and communicate and talk.
Kids need normality."
Read more: Victoria Beckham reveals favourite comfort food and go-to meal in restaurants
David is famously open in his praise for his family, with regular Instagram posts and updates expressing his pride and love. In July this year the couple celebrated 22 years of marriage.
Under a photo of their matching purple outfits on their wedding day, David wrote, "22 years later, still matching outfits. Happy anniversary love u so much and thank you for giving me our amazing kids so we can all wear the same."
Victoria responded, "I love you David. Happy anniversary."
During lockdown he posted several sweet home video clips, showing himself feeding a spaniel, captioned, "all we do in lockdown is high five and eat," - the brief insta clip had over eight a a half million views.
Earlier this year, on her 47th birthday, he wrote to Victoria, "to the best mummy and wife.. we love you so much and you deserve the best day ever."
Read more: Victoria Beckham says she's 'lucky' as she shares picture of David with his top off
Despite their huge global fame, it seems the real secret of the Beckham's success is keeping things as normal as they possibly can, with a focus on family, mutual support and a shared sense of humour.
They make it look easy - but two years ago, Victoria told The Financial Times, “Me and David, love or hate the two of us, we work really hard.
"We’ve always worked really hard," she added. "Getting success is one thing, maintaining it is a whole other thing."
Watch: David & Victoria Beckham's cutest family instagram moments
