Opportunity knocks
Petronella Wyatt
The Posh and Becks story makes a disgusting spectacle. Not because of the so-called wronged wife, but because of the behaviour of all the participants. Usually, someone comes out of a sexual imbroglio looking relatively shining. But, in this instance, all and sundry are covered in mud — particularly Mrs Beckham.
Whatever became of dignity, discretion and keeping your glossy head down when your famous husband strays? Perhaps the ghastly PR Max Clifford is right. Posh is so addicted to publicity that she cannot help but turn a private matter into an opportunity for photo calls.
If my spouse had been unfaithful, would I be making love to him in public? You bet I wouldn't. The sight of Mrs Beckham wrapping herself around ter man', when she obviously wants to knife him, is so unnatural and unattractive that any sympathy for her evaporates. But isn't she brave? commentators ask. No. The brave thing to do in these situations is nothing.
It is also the logical thing to do. According to Posh's friends, she `just wants the whole thing to go away'. Yet she is single-handedly keeping it alive. Every new photograph of the couple ensures that their travails continue to be reported in the newspapers.
Mrs Beckham is really no better than Rebecca Loos. Miss Loos has been called a 'tart' for selling her story. This is harsh assessment. Miss Loos is not a tart but an opportunist, despite coming from what is called a 'good family', whatever that means. In my view, there is no difference between telling for free and telling for hundreds of thousands of pounds. The moral here is that if you want to keep your reputation, you don't speak at all. But Miss Loos had no reputation to begin with.
Mrs Beckham isn't speaking, of course, except through these mysterious 'friends'. She is, however, performing, which is just as bad. Her husband should refuse to take part in these embarrassing and ludicrous displays of affection. He is evidently detesting every moment. What an irony, when it is usually the hard-done-by wife who hates the happy-families photo call.
Most seriously, though, why doesn't Posh think of her children? Miss Loos is blamed for causing Brooklyn and Romeo confusion and distress, but in my experience this is unlikely. Children are much more adaptable than the modern age imagines. Most of us are the products of uneasy marriages. I found out very young that my father was having an affair. To me it seemed more like an adventure than a tragedy. I knew my parents loved me, and, selfish as children are, no other aspect of life seemed important.
What kids hate, however, is being embarrassed by their parents. If the Beckhams' sons were old enough to realise what was going on, they would be egging on their mother to stop. 'Please, Mum, you're making a fool of yourself and it's not fair on us.' In later years, Posh may kick herself for not having thought of the effect that her photographs might have on the children.
Poor Mr Beckham. At least he has the grace to look sheepish and uncomfortable when his indomitable wife drags him across red carpets with her bosom falling down to her waist. In any case, who can blame him for having an affair? It is contrary to all natural laws to expect a famous young footballer, whose wife of some years prefers to live in another country, not to succumb to a pretty woman. Why is Posh making such a fuss? Only because our hypocrisy towards sex makes her feel publicly humiliated.
The sooner we all accept that marriage, particularly for men, is the equivalent of a straitjacket from which one partner will inevitably attempt to break loose, the sooner women will be happier. Sensible wives don't behave as if the world has come to an end because their husbands have had sex with another woman.
Girls like Rebecca Loos don't stay the course. Perhaps this is because they are essentially dishonourable and therefore lack qualities that inspire genuine love. It is not Miss Loos or Sarah Marbeck or any other ambitious but negligible woman that Posh needs to worry about. It is herself. Eventually, it may be an overwrought and mortified Becks, rather than his wife, who files for divorce.
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