After her row with Becks at Glastonbury, Posh is worried that she’s no fun anymore
They were caught arguing at Glasto, so what’s really going on in the Beckham household?
She might be a Hermès-bagtoting fashion designer these days, but Victoria Beckham seriously pushed herself out of her comfort zone in the name of love last weekend – heading to Glastonbury Festival with husband David.
Victoria, 43, joined David, 42, and son Brooklyn, 18 – who were already at the festival – after arriving via helicopter. But their first Glastonbury experience quickly turned sour when the pair began arguing at 7.30pm, just hours after Victoria’s VIP arrival. Onlookers say it all started with Victoria being left alone in the VIP area, causing her to angrily confront David about it when he returned. Apparently, Brooklyn’s response was to fetch his famous dad a double gin and tonic, telling him not to worry. “It was all so public and obvious,” a source tells heat. “Victoria felt like everyone knew about it and was worried that all the effort she’d put into going there might totally backfire. Glastonbury is something she’d never normally do – it’s not her style. Even though she knew people there, it was still out of her comfort zone. She’s in her element in fashion, not getting down in the mud with people who drink pints and dance non-ironically. W hile she and David made up quickly, of course she didn’t like that the row happened in public.”
This week marks the couple’s 18th wedding anniversary but, the source says, the row has cast a shadow over it. “Vic wanted this week to be perfect, but instead everyone’s talking about their argument,” we’re told.
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time, with the trip being seen as an opportunity for the pair to bond, since David is set to travel regularly to Miami, where he’s working on setting up a football team and has just been granted permission to build a stadium. “Victoria wants prove that she’s chilled out and will go outside her comfort zone,” says our source. “The family were shocked when she said she was going to Glasto. I think it annoys her sometimes that David is seen as the ‘fun’ one, so she was telling friends she wanted to show that she loves live music, having a drink and dancing. She loved being able to spend the weekend with David, but the festival was a different experience for her, and of course she doesn’t like the idea of them having to spend more time apart because of his commitments in America.”
Victoria and David used to be regulars on the A-list party circuit, but it seems they have pretty different stances on socialising these days. While David enjoys big events and going out in London with the likes of Guy Ritchie and best friend Dave Gardner, his wife admits to preferring smaller gatherings. “I don’t tend to go to parties,” she’s said. “I’m really good value at a dinner party – I want to relax and have a laugh.”
“They both have their own social things,” says the source. “There was a time when Vic was the more outgoing one, and David was the shy one. But as she’s got older, women constantly hitting on David and having people gossip openly about her means she prefers a more low-key social life with her family and friends.”
And while David wants Victoria to be relaxed in whatever she does, it can be a difficult line to tread. “He reassures her that she should feel comfortable at any event, but the more low-key the occasion, the less he’ll push it, as he doesn’t want to upset her in any way. It’s a can sometimes be a touchy subject between them,” we’re told.
It doesn’t help that persistent rumours about the designer’s “miserable” image seem to follow Victoria around, either. “David and I have a lot of fun together,” she recently hit back in an interview. “If I really was as miserable as I look in some of those paparazzi pictures, my children wouldn’t be as happy as they are. And I certainly wouldn’t be married anymore.”
Despite their differences and constant speculation about their marriage, it’s hard to deny that the Victoria has clearly been making an effort of late. Uploading a sweet photo of David with their four children to her Instagram account days before she headed out to Glasto on their “bonding” trip, Victoria wrote a gushing message, saying, “The best daddy in the world!!! We all love u so, so much. X kisses from us all X.”
But now the couple’s oldest son Brooklyn is about to fly the nest, too (he’s moving to New York to study fashion photography this September), having David spending more time in Miami is far from ideal. “Being apart from her two men at the same time is going to be really tough for Victoria,” says our source. “Brooklyn has always stood up for her and confided in her. Now that he’s growing up, she worries he will start thinking she’s an embarrassing mum.”
It’s clear David being away will be tough on Vic, who recently spoke about how much she relies on David to help her juggle work and family life. “During Fashion Week, when I’m working, the children will be in New York, and he’s already planned to take them to museums then out for dinner on Saturday night, so he is very good at that sort of thing – as am I,” she explained. “That’s how you can show your support in a marriage, by saying, ‘You know what, I’ve got this.’ That’s what makes a good partnership.”
But things didn’t look too relaxed for the partnership as they made their first public appearance post-glasto at Brooklyn’s What I See photography book launch in London last week. The event also saw Brooklyn’s younger brothers Romeo and Cruz turn up in support, alongside Victoria’s parents. Standing together for photographers, you’d be forgiven for thinking the dust hadn’t quite settled, with the pair both looking tense as they posed.
“Victoria knows that her and David’s row will be forgotten soon enough and they’ll move on, but it’s not how she wanted their first time at Glastonbury to go,” says our insider. n SOPHIE GODDARD
‘It annoys Vic that David is seen as the “fun” one’