David Beckham has revealed he was too scared to sleep next to wife Victoria and son Brooklyn out of fear their first-born would be kidnapped.
In a new, four-part Netflix docuseries, released on Wednesday, the footballer and the fashion designer give an insight into their lives, using archive footage and interviews with friends Mel C and Gary Neville.
While the series looks at their fairytale romance, it also shows the dark side of fame, revealing how Beckham was left “clinically depressed” following the backlash he received for kicking Argentine footballer Diego Simeone during England’s 1998 World Cup game.
His actions led to him getting a red card and England being knocked out of the tournament.
In the documentary, Beckham explained that the infamous incident happened moments after Victoria told him that she was pregnant with their first child.
He said: “What I went through was so extreme. The whole country hated me. Hated me. It changed my life. I felt very vulnerable and alone. Wherever I went I got abuse every single day.
“People look at you in a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things that they said. That was difficult.”
The sports star explained that he was so terrified that he couldn’t even sleep the night after Brooklyn was born and would stay awake to protect his family from any threats.
Beckham continued: “That night, Brooklyn slept next to Victoria, Victoria was like, come and squeeze on the bed with me, and I said, absolutely not.
“I’m sleeping with my head against the door because I was paranoid someone was going to steal him. It’s meant to be a happy moment, and it was of course, but I was worried.
“I didn’t want him to come into this life at a time where I was going through what I was going through.”
