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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Why Gemma Owen didn't socialise with the Beckham boys amid dad's disdain for David

Love Island viewers have been on the edge of their seats for weeks waiting for Gemma Owen to drop her 'famous dad' bombshell.

But there was a lot of disappoinment during Thursday night's episode as the supposed big reveal over her identity as Michael Owen's daughter was barely worth mentioning.

What made it even worse is that dumped Islander Ikenna confessed that they all found out within the first couple of days in unaired scenes.

In a damp squib of a moment that you'd be forgiven for not even hearing, Antigoni asked: "Sorry, excuse me if I'm being ignorant, but is your dad like very very well-known? He played for England, right?'.

Gemma confirmed this was the case, then when asked by Ekin-Su if she liked David Beckham's sons, she added: "Well, I went to nursery with his sons, yeah."

However, Gemma didn't actually spend much time with the Beckham boys due to her dad's 'resentment' towards Becks.

Owen always held a resentment towards Beckham (Mirrorpix)

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Even when the two footballers were the only Englishman at Real Madrid with families of similar ages, they did not socialise together.

Owen and Beckham played for rival clubs Liverpool and Manchester United but lived nearby in Cheshire and came together to play for England at the 1998 World Cup in France.

It was the tournament which saw an 18-year-old Owen break onto the international scene in stunning fashion, but he felt 'let down' by Beckham during their round-of-16 tie against Argentina.

In a moment of madness, Becks went from hero to zero when he kicked out at Diego Simeone and was sent off.

England went on to lose the match during a penalty shootout so were knocked out of the tournament - and Owen was unable to get over the pain of that night.

He described Golden Balls' actions as 'immature and petulant' in a scathing rant in his 2019 autobiography Reboot, proving the grudge remains to this day.

They were England teammates but not close friends (Press Association)

"Sitting here now, with the benefit of hindsight and perspective, I feel that what David did probably wasn’t a red card offence in the first place," wrote Owen.

"While it was clearly pre-meditated, it was immature and petulant more than it was violent. But for me, that almost makes it worse.

"All I can say is that, as I sit here now writing this book, knowing how lucky a player is to appear in one World Cup, never mind more than one, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that what David did that day hadn’t let every single one of that England team down.

"Did he deserve the abuse he got afterwards? Certainly not. What human being needs to see his or her effigy being burned? But David let us down, and I still hold some resentment about it today."

Following his famous falling out with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Beckham moved away from Manchester to Spain in 2003 when he signed a big money deal at Real Madrid.

Just 12 months later, he was joined by his England teammate Owen when he also transferred to the Spanish giants.

Becks and Owen both signed for Real Madrid (Getty Images)
They didn't socialise much away from the football field (AFP)

Having played together for England for many years, many expected they would form a close friendship on the continent as they were the only two Englishmen playing in Spain.

However, this wasn't the case and Owen revealed the pair rarely spoke away from the football pitch and their families were not intertwined.

At the time, David and his wife Victoria were parents to Brooklyn and Romeo, who is just a year older than Owen's daughter Gemma.

Even though their wives were both feeling 'lonely' in a foreign country without their friends and families around, they did not meet up much, so Gemma didn't spend much time with the Beckham lads.

Writing in his autobiography, Owen said: "As much as we ended up living close to David and Victoria Beckham and were two English families living abroad in the same city, there wasn't much in the way of social life as far as them and us were concerned.

"Given that both Louise and Victoria were quite lonely and both looking after young kids, they'd occasionally see each other while we were training. That was the extent of the friendship, however.

"This perhaps wasn't a surprise given that, by the time we found ourselves in Madrid together, David and I had even less in common than we ever had."

Owen brought Gemma onto the pitch at St James' Park in 2005 (Getty Images)
Young Gemma loved waving at the crowds (Reuters)

While Posh and Becks adapted to life in Spain and mingled with a number of famous faces, Owen and his wife had a quieter life.

He continued: "I certainly didn't like wearing the trendy gear or mingling among socialite company. David and Victoria on the other hand, were both bona fide superstars in their own right.

"They were operating on a completely different stratosphere from a social perspective. I never once got the impression I was on the inner circle of David's group of friends."

Owen lasted just one season at Real Madrid before returning to England when he signed for Newcastle United - a decision he now says he regrets.

When Owen was introduced to the Newcastle fans at St James' Park in August 2005, he carried a very young Gemma in his arms.

The Love Island star looked adorable in her black and white striped shirt as she clutched a mini football and waved at the singing fans.

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