Twenty-five years of marriage is a cause for celebration for any couple, but especially for David and Victoria Beckham, who have proved all the early critics wrong who claimed the celebrity couple wouldn’t last. The fashion designer, 50, and the former footballer, 49 met in 1997 after ‘Posh Spice’ attended one of David’s Manchester United matches with Mel C. They announced to the public that they were engaged a year later and have been happily married since July 1999. Now, four children, a countryside property in the Cotswolds, and a documentary later, Posh and Becks are gearing up to celebrate their milestone silver wedding anniversary on July 4. So, as the couple commemorate this landmark moment in their love story, MailOnline takes a look back at how the pair have evolved into the power couple they are today…
How their A-list love story began
David and Victoria first met in 1997, when she came to watch him at a Manchester United football match and he said ‘hi from across the room’. Victoria recalled the meeting in a letter for her 18-year-old self in Vogue, writing: ‘While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family. ‘(He’s not even in the first team at this stage—you are the famous one.) And he has such a cute smile. You, too, are close to your family, and you will think how similar he feels to you.’ Meanwhile, during an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres show, David also told of the sweet moment, saying: ‘She came to a football match—soccer match—and I said “hi” from across the room and that was it. ‘I thought I’d missed my chance, and then a week later she turned up at another football match. She had a few to drink, and she gave me her number.’
A romantic proposal
Soon after their initial meeting, the couple went on their first date and quickly became inseparable. In January 1998, just one year after meeting, David and Victoria announced that they were engaged. At the time it was considered the definition of an A-List love story, with David one of the biggest stars for England and Manchester United, and Victoria a member of The Spice Girls. Speaking about the proposal, Victoria said at the time: ‘We’d already looked at a few rings but I didn’t know which one he had chosen. I’d told him what my dream ring would be. He remembered and had it specially made for me’. The proposal came when they checked into a hotel after a Manchester United game, after which Victoria was presented with 30 roses before being escorted to their room which was packed with £200 worth of red and yellow lillies. The duo slipped into bath robes, ordered dinner and champagne and David popped the question much to Victoria’s utter delight.
A lavish celebrity wedding
Mere months before the couple became Mr and Mrs Beckham, David and Victoria welcomed their first child together, son Brooklyn. He was born at London’s Portland Hospital in London and it is often reported that he was named Brooklyn because he was conceived in NYC. While they were a popular pairing before, David and Victoria cemented their place as an up and coming power couple when they tied the knot in 1999 after two years of dating. And the lavish wedding was not one to be forgotten – the Robin Hood-themed extravaganza saw the couple sit on giant golden thrones while they stared down at their star-studded guests. Sparing no expense, the couple hired Bentley’s Entertainments, organisers of Elton John’s birthday as well as Princess Anne’s 40th, to mastermind the highly-publicised showbiz event. David rocked up to Dublin’s Luttrellstown Castle in a £230,000 Bentley Azure wearing a cream suit designed by Timothy Everett, with lover Victoria sported a Vera Wang dress as she rode in style in a Bentley Arnage. She had hired Simon Lycett, who worked on the 90s rom-com Four Weddings And A Funeral, to set up the floral arrangements – complete with fresh apples which had been pierced and dotted around the castle in order to discharge the scent of fruit. Cutting into a three-tiered Rachel Mount cake at 10pm, speeches from their loved ones were made before Posh and Becks performed their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s It Had To Be You.
Matching hairstyles and coordinating outfits
The couple established themselves as style icons early in the heydey of their relationship and were regularly seen donning matching outfits. At one point, the fashion designer and footballer even had very similar hairstyles. Back in October 2021, Victoria revealed during a visit on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon why she and David used to wear matching outfits.
