‘Selfish’ Victoria and David Beckham’s horror over coronavirus ‘cover-up’ claims

For a woman who is a self-confessed control freak, it’s understandable that Victoria Beckham didn’t react well to last week’s headlines accusing her and husband David of catching coronavirus at the start of lockdown and trying to keep it covered up. It was claimed the couple caught COVID-19 while splitting their time between the US and the UK, partying and networking, at the start of March.

According to reports, Victoria, 46, and David, 45, feared they were “superspreaders”, as several of their staff also caught the virus following two weeks of jetting to and from America and Britain with their four children, Brooklyn, 21, Romeo, 18, Cruz, 15, and nine-year-old Harper.

They spent time in Los Angeles – with one report claiming they caught it at a party there – before hosting a huge, lavish birthday bash to celebrate Brooklyn’s 21st birthday on 6 March, and then flying out to Miami for the first home game for David’s football team on 14 March, which ended up being cancelled.

They returned home several days later, just before the UK went into lockdown, then the family – minus Brooklyn, who stayed in the States with fiancée Nicola Peltz – spent the next few months holed up at their Cotswolds mansion.

During this time at their luxurious second home, the Beckhams regularly posted on social media about their life during lockdown, putting up videos and photos of them clapping for the NHS and telling fans to #stayhome. But they failed to mention that both Victoria and David, as well as various staff members, had fallen ill with the virus, which has angered many people – especially as it seemed they were flying around the world and holding huge parties when the virus had already been classed as a pandemic.

One online commenter wrote, “Have I read that correctly, they caught it partying in America, possibly spreading it wherever they went, then they flew to America spreading it again? My god, how thoughtless, stupid, arrogant and careless is that[?] A disgraceful and disgusting pair.” Another one fumed, “These two are beyond selfish, there was a worldwide pandemic going on and they thought it was OK to fly everywhere and host a huge party.”

While there is no suggestion that the Beckhams did anything against government guidelines, as they didn’t develop symptoms until they returned to England and then isolated, we’re told Posh is horrified this has all come out.

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“Vic is absolutely fuming that news of them having COVID is everywhere, and says she suspects it’s a former staff member getting their own back,” our Beckham insider says. “And the reason they never wanted it getting out was because they didn’t want Brooklyn being attacked about his birthday bash, with everyone saying it was a superspreader party. A lot of the people who attended are international jet-setters – with most of them flying in and out of the country on a regular basis. Loads of them had been skiing [it’s thought the virus came to the UK via holidaymakers in the French Alps]. It was a hotbed of potential COVID, essentially, but they knew if the news leaked, then the whole family would be criticised. Victoria and David usually have very different approaches, but they definitely agreed on this.”

The party was held at their Cotswolds home, and as well as all of Brooklyn’s friends and family, Victoria and David had invited lots of their A-list friends, and Stormzy also performed. The Beckhams then all flew to Miami for the football team’s first home match, despite the world being in crisis – and looking back, we’re told they realise mistakes were made.

“In hindsight, they both agree that perhaps they shouldn’t have thrown such a big party and posted it all over Instagram when there was all of this going on,” says the source. “But like a lot of people, they had no idea of what was to come, and they weren’t doing anything wrong, as big gatherings hadn’t been banned yet. But perhaps they should have looked at other countries around the world that were already facing lockdowns and realised it wasn’t appropriate. They had commitments in Miami so they felt they needed to be there, and they flew by private jet, but again, they realise that maybe it was a mistake in going. As soon as they got back to the UK, they were very sensible. Yes, they didn’t tell anyone, but they didn’t feel they needed to. And they have been very vocal about supporting the NHS and have been careful ever since.”

It has also been a bit of wake-up call for the Beckhams about all their travel and how they live their lives. “Vic is terrified the kids will catch it now they’re in school again, and they will need to go back into quarantine. She’s having them tested on a regular basis, whenever anyone has been away, as a precaution, so they don’t risk passing it on,” our source adds.

“There’s an apartment above the back garage at their London home, which they use as the car entrance, and that’s going to be the self-isolation unit if any of them has to travel. She knows they have to cut back on their jet-setting for the next couple of years, and she wants people to know that they are changing. She would never want to put anybody at risk.”

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