Victoria Beckham hid her eating disorder from everyone, including her husband, David Beckham.
The former Spice Girls member — who first spoke about her decades-long battle in her recently released Netflix documentary — elaborated on the secrecy of the “consuming” illness on Wednesday’s episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
“You said [in the documentary], ‘When you have an eating disorder, you become very good at lying.’ Did you confide in anyone at this point in your life?” host Alex Cooper inquired, to which Victoria responded, “No. No one at all.”
Victoria Beckham hid her eating disorder from everyone, including her husband, David Beckham. Getty Images
The former Spice Girls member — who first spoke about her decades-long battle in her recently released Netflix documentary — elaborated on the secrecy of the “consuming” illness on Wednesday. Call Her Daddy/YouTube
Asked when she felt “ready” to open up to David about her struggles, Victoria, 51, explained that he always knew her to be “very disciplined” about the way she eats.
“I was too scared to talk to anyone. I didn’t feel that I could trust anyone at all,” she lamented before noting proudly that she “managed to turn an unhealthy obsession with food into a healthy relationship” all on her own.
Acknowledging that the way to heal is to find “balance,” Victoria credited the retired soccer star — whom she married in July 1999 — with helping her break free from the cycle of “cardio, cardio, cardio.”
“You said [in the documentary], ‘When you have an eating disorder, you become very good at lying.’ Did you confide in anyone at this point in your life?” “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper inquired. Call Her Daddy/YouTube
“David was the one that changed my workout around,” she shared, admitting that “all [she] wanted to do was burn, burn, burn” calories.
“He was the one that encouraged me to start weight training,” the fashion designer said, adding that David, 50, has “always been so supportive.”
Though Victoria remains “very disciplined” in both diet and exercise, she insisted that she’s in a “healthy” place these days.
“No. No one at all,” Victoria responded. Call Her Daddy/YouTube
Asked when she felt “ready” to open up to David about her struggles, Victoria explained that he always knew her to be “very disciplined” about the way she eats. victoriabeckham/Instagram
Before the documentary premiered earlier this month, the mother of four told Cooper she sat down with her and David’s only daughter — 14-year-old Harper — to talk through her experience “so she could understand.”
Victoria recalled her unhealthy relationship with food beginning in the ’90s when “everybody was obsessed with ‘fat-free, fat-free, fat-free.’”
She subsequently became “terrified” of eating food containing fat, which in turn made her “really mindful” of everything she consumed.
“I was too scared to talk to anyone. I didn’t feel that I could trust anyone at all,” she lamented. Getty Images
Acknowledging that the way to heal is to find “balance,” Victoria credited the retired soccer star with helping her break free from the cycle of “cardio, cardio, cardio.” victoriabeckham/Instagram
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(The documentary also discussed how she was body-shamed by her dance teachers when she was a preteen and teenager.)
“That was confusing enough for me, and so I think then going into the Spice Girls and having people talk about me so much and my weight and, as you said — one minute I was ‘Porky Posh,’ and the next minute I was ‘Skinny Posh’ — it plays tricks with you,” she explained.
“I didn’t know what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I had no idea. You lose all sense of reality. And it is so consuming. It is so tiring. And it takes over. It really takes over.”
Before the documentary premiered earlier this month, the mother of four told Cooper she sat down with her and David’s only daughter — 14-year-old Harper — to talk through her experience “so she could understand.” David Beckham /Instagram
Though Victoria remains “very disciplined” in both diet and exercise, she insisted that she’s in a “healthy” place these days. Call Her Daddy/YouTube
Feeling “miserable” and “lonely,” Victoria confessed that she was “not truly present” for many years.
“That’s really tough,” she told Cooper, “and you just gotta talk about it.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders at 866-662-1235.