After starring in one of the most viral moments in BECKHAM — the 2023 docuseries chronicling the life and career of footballer David Beckham — Victoria Beckham’s own follow doc might have seemed an inevitability. But before agreeing to let director Nadia Hallgren’s cameras into both her life and behind the scenes of her fashion brand, Victoria needed some convincing.
“When I watched David’s documentary, I genuinely questioned [what] the response towards me [would be],” Victoria tells Krista Smith in a new episode of the Skip Intro podcast. “No one likes to see themselves on television. No one likes how they sound. And so I was quite uncertain of how I came across. And I was told, ‘respect the process, lean into the process and trust the incredible team that were making the show,’ which I did. They were right. I was wrong. And there’s something really liberating about being wrong about these things!”
The warm reception that followed BECKHAM took her by surprise. Hardened by years of harsh tabloid scrutiny of her every post-Posh Spice move, Victoria recalls being stunned to find an anonymous note left for her and David. It was a message of contrition that opened her up to the idea of telling her own story.
“We went to the local pub in the countryside and when we got back in the car, someone had pinned a note to the front of the car that said, “Dear P and Becks, on behalf of the British public, we are really sorry,” Victoria recalls. “It was the response to David’s that ultimately gave me the confidence to do my own, because I genuinely mean it when I say I was surprised anybody wanted to know my story.”
Even with that encouragement, Victoria hesitated. The idea of opening up her private day-to-day life, especially in the run-up to her most ambitious Paris Fashion Week show, gave her pause. “I was nervous — I’m not gonna lie,” she says. “I was so surprised when Netflix actually asked me to do this. I genuinely questioned [if] anybody really wanted to see what I do every day when I go to work? I said no a few times.”
She did her homework, too. Before signing on, Victoria “watched all the fashion documentaries that are out there” and considered what her own could uniquely offer: unprecedented access to her studio, fittings, and show prep, not to mention key voices from inside the industry — Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, Donatella Versace, Roland Mouret — who could speak to her evolution. If she was going to do it, it had to be substantive, not glossy.
Ultimately, it came down to David’s unwavering support — a rare but crucial constant in a 26-year marriage otherwise defined by continual evolution. “My husband was the one [who] convinced me that it was the right thing to do, and that I should do it,” Victoria says.
Their partnership, Victoria adds, is built on pacing each other through new chapters and pushing one another to take the leap when it matters most. “I’m so thankful and grateful that we have grown and evolved together, which I think is rare,” she says. “You know, you often hear in relationships, one says to the other, you’ve changed. If you’ve been with someone for 26 years and you haven’t changed, there’s a problem right there. We have both changed, but we’ve changed together.”
Letting the world in on that evolution, it turns out, has been worth it. “I’ve been really blown away by the response,” she says. “I’ve had incredible messages from people that can relate to my story. I feel quite humbled by the whole experience.”
Victoria Beckham is now streaming.
