'Had no control': Victoria addresses eating disorder in Netflix doc
What's the story
Victoria Beckham, the former Spice Girls member and fashion designer, has opened up about her long-standing battle with an eating disorder. In the new Netflix docuseries Victoria Beckham, she revealed that the condition left her losing "all sense of reality." The 51-year-old confessed to being a master at deception when it came to hiding her disorder from her parents. "When you have an eating disorder, you become very good at lying."
Body image issues
'I've been everything from porky posh to skinny posh'
Beckham, who is often referred to as Posh Spice, admitted that she was deeply affected by the constant criticism of her body. "I've been everything from Porky Posh to Skinny Posh," she said in the docuseries. "I had no control over what's been written about me, pictures that were being taken, and I suppose I wanted to control that... I could control my weight." "And I was controlling it in an incredibly unhealthy way."
Disorder onset
'We laugh about it and we joke about it...but...'
Beckham recalled being weighed on national television in 1999, just six months after giving birth to her first child, Brooklyn Beckham. "We laugh about it and we joke about it when we're on television, but I was really, really young and that hurts," she said. "I really started to doubt myself and not like myself because I let it affect me."
Media scrutiny
David Beckham spoke about media's treatment of women
Former footballer and Beckham's husband, David Beckham, also spoke about the media's treatment of women during the early 2000s. He recalled how people felt it was okay to criticize a woman for her weight, clothing, and actions. "There were a lot of things happening in TV then that wouldn't happen now, that can't happen now," he said.
Food habits
More on the docuseries and Beckham's relationship with food
Despite her past struggles, Beckham now has a healthy relationship with food. However, she still avoids chocolate, saying, "I haven't touched chocolate since the '90s." The docuseries Victoria Beckham follows her as she prepares for a fashion show in Paris while reflecting on her life. It features interviews with Anna Wintour, Eva Longoria, Tom Ford, and Donatella Versace. In 2023, Netflix released a docuseries on David's life and career.