David Beckham was in tears as he recalled he and his wife Victoria Beckham were "drowning" amid the difficult period they faced in 2003 when reports of the footballer's alleged affair came to light.
The former England captain was discussing the harrowing time in his brutally honest new Netflix documentary, Beckham, when he was overcome with emotion. At the time, David and Victoria's marriage was in the papers relentlessly after he was accused of having an affair with his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos.
Holding back the tears, David, 48, began telling the camera and docuseries director, Fisher Stevens: "When I first moved to Spain, it was difficult because I had been part of a club and a family for my whole career, from the age of 15 until I was 27 years old. I get sold overnight, the next minute I'm in a city, I don't speak the language. More importantly, I didn't have my family."
"Up until Madrid sometimes it felt like us against everybody else. But we were together, we were connected, we had each other. But when we were in Spain, it didn't really feel like we had each other either. And that's sad."
David added: "Every time we woke up we felt like there was something else and we felt that we were not losing each other but drowning."
MORE: Harper Beckham exposes mum Victoria's cooking skills in hilarious video - watch
MORE: David and Victoria Beckham recall terrifying impact alleged affair had on son Brooklyn
© NetflixAt this point in the series' fourth episode, the sportsman was overcome with emotion and tears after being asked by Fisher Stevens how he and Victoria made it through that period. After taking a few beats to think, David responded: "I don't know. I don't know how we got through it, in all honesty."
Through tears, he continued: "Victoria is everything to me. To see her hurt was incredibly difficult. But we're fighters and at that time we needed to fight for each other, we needed to fight for our family. And what we had, was worth fighting for. But ultimately, it's our private life."
© GettyDavid then explained how the turbulent time affected his career, which was on an upwards trajectory after being sold to Real Madrid for 37 million euros on a four-year contract.
5 Revelations from the Beckham documentary
1. Beckham gets the boot from the boss
David's mentor and 'father-figure' Sir Alex Ferguson accidentally threw a football boot which hit the footballer above his eyebrow after Manchester United's 2-0 loss to Arsenal during the fifth round of the FA Cup final in 2003.
2. David was "clinically depressed"
David faced death threats and abuse after being given a red card during the 1998 World Cup against Argentina – a move that many insisted cost England the game.
3. Posh and Becks changed David
Victoria was on fifth of the biggest girlband on the planet, so when they started dating, 'Posh and Becks' became a global phenomenon, something that Sir Alex said "changed" David.
4. The couple get candid
David's alleged affair with Rebecca Loos and the media frenzy surrounding the story impacted their marriage. "We felt that we were not losing each other but drowning," said the footballer.
5. David almost misses Cruz's birth
Victoria said how husband David nearly missed the birth of their son, Cruz, in 2005 as he was attending a photoshoot with J-Lo and Beyonce. Fortunately, David made it in time.
"There would be some days where I'd wake up and think, 'How am I going to go to work? How am I going to walk onto that pitch? How am I going to look as if nothing's wrong? I felt physically sick every day when I opened my eyes."
© NetflixIn another emotional moment in the documentary, the pair, who are parents to Brooklyn, 24, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 18, and Harper, 12, speak candidly about how their eldest son, who was five years old at the time, was affected.
© NetflixVictoria told the camera: "It was very difficult for Brooklyn because he was older, and he had photographers screaming things. They used to scream things to Brooklyn about his mum and his dad."
David added: "Brooklyn at the time was so young. He had to go through that and I don't know whether it's harmed him. I don't know, I don't know."
