Victoria Beckham Recalls How Tabloids Pressured Her to Lose Weight After Welcoming Son Brooklyn

In a new interview with Grazia published Tuesday (May 28), Victoria Beckham opened up about how paparazzi and tabloids criticized her figure in the months after she and husband David Beckham welcomed their firstborn son Brooklyn, which made her feel pressured to lose weight.

Recalling the aftermath of her oldest child’s birth in March 1999, the former Spice Girl said, “I remember after I had Brooklyn, my first outing was on the front page of the newspaper, with arrows pointing to where I needed to lose weight.”

“I’ve had so much said about me and I’m sure that has robbed me of some experiences,” she continued in the article. “I never want to look like I’m complaining, but there were times in the past that I haven’t felt confident enough to sit on a beach and watch my children play.”

“Those things can affect how you feel and conduct yourself in public,” Posh added. “Now, if paparazzi want to take a picture and say something – too bad, it doesn’t bother me in the same way.”

The Beckhams share a total of four kids, with son Romeo coming along in September 2002 after Brooklyn. They welcomed son Cruz in 2005, followed by daughter Harper in 2011.

While speaking to the publication, Victoria also shared that her family’s collective use of social media has allowed her to show the world a different side of her. “For so long people had this opinion of me that I was this steely-faced ice queen because of the paparazzi pictures and the story that the media would paint,” she said. “I like to laugh at myself. There’s always humor in what we do … They showed the world who I really was. That is the real me.”

The interview comes about a month after the beauty and clothing mogul celebrated her 50th birthday with a grand party, which was attended by Mel B, Melanie C, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell — aka Victoria’s Spice Girls bandmates. At one point, the quintet danced along to their 1997 hit “Stop,” a rare reunion captured by David in an Instagram video.

“Best night ever!” Victoria wrote at the time, also sharing the clip on social media. “Happy Birthday to me! I love you all so much!”