In a new three-part documentary series on Netflix, Victoria Beckham, the former Spice Girls star breaks her decades-long silence around her eating disorder, explaining it partly stemmed from the harsh criticism she was often subjected to by the press.
The article references the infamous moment Victoria was weighed on live TV by Chris Evans, months after giving birth to her eldest son, Brooklyn, when he probed, "Is your weight back to normal?"
Speaking honestly, Victoria reflected on that moment and how the tabloids have labelled her everything from 'Porky Posh' to 'Skinny Posh', which had a hugely damaging impact on her mental health and led to her severely restricting her diet.
Victoria also explains that she grew up receiving criticism about her weight when trying to make it as a dancer in her younger years, and says being 'put at the back' of the troupe during performances due to her appearance left a scar.
"I really started to doubt myself and not like myself, and because I let it affect me, I didn't know what I saw when I looked in the mirror," the designer and mother of four says. "You lose all sense of reality. I'm just very critical of myself. I didn't like what I saw."
Victoria then continued on to add, "I could control it with the clothing. I could control my weight and I was controlling it in an incredibly unhealthy way. It really affects you when you're being told constantly you're not good enough."
"When you have an eating disorder, you become very good at lying. I was never honest about it with my parents. I never talked about it publicly. It really affects you that you're being told you’re constantly not good enough. And that's been with me my whole life."
Husband, David Beckham, also spoke about the cruel and misogynistic undertones that dominated celebrity press coverage.
"People felt that it was okay to criticise a woman for her weight, for what she's doing, for what she's wearing, there were a lot of things happening in TV then that won't happen now," he reflected. "That can’t happen now."
The article concludes with a note that 'Victoria Beckham' is streaming on Netflix and provides the contact information for Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity.
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