Singer and fashionista Victoria Beckham can still remember how painful it was to have a newspaper purposefully shame her postpartum body.
In a recent interview with Grazia, the mom of four recalled an incident that occurred shortly after she first stepped into the public eye after giving birth to her now 25-year-old son, Brooklyn.
"I remember after I had Brooklyn, the first outing was on the front page of the newspaper, with arrows pointing to where I needed to lose weight," Beckham told the publication.
"I've had so much said about me and I'm sure that has robbed me of some experiences," she continued. "I never want to look like I'm complaining, but there were times in my past that I haven't felt confident enough to sit on a bench and watch my children play."
The Spice Girls member went on to say that "those things can affect how you feel and conduct yourself in public," adding that now "if paparazzi want to take a picture and say something—too bad, it doesn't bother me in the same way."
The incident is far from the only time Beckham has been shamed and scrutinized after having a child. In a 2022 interview with Vogue Australia, the proud mom recalled a time when she was weighed on national television just two months postpartum.
"I went on a TV show called Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush with (British TV host) Chris Evans many years ago, and I’d just had Brooklyn and lost a lot of weight after,” Beckham said at the time. “It happened to my mum after her pregnancies. It doesn’t mean you have an eating disorder.”
During the segment, Evans asks Beckham: “A lot of girls want to know, because you look fantastic again, how did you get back to your shape after your birth?”
Beckham shared that she didn't do any one thing after giving birth, but Evans said he wanted to "check" and, according to Beckham, "he made me stand on scales and be weighed."
"Can you imagine doing that nowadays?” she added.
In her recent Grazia interview, Beckham admitted that she hasn't magically stopped caring about what other people think about her or how she presents herself, but adds that "you just become more accepting, don’t you?"
"This is how I look. I’m going to make the best of it, work hard at it,’ she explained. "I’m very disciplined with the way that I eat, the way that I work out and the way I work. That’s just who I am. But I do like to have a drink and I’m not going to be one of these, 'Ah, there are too many calories in a glass of wine,' types. Whatever. Life’s too short. Let’s have a nice time.’
