Victoria Beckham on the 'Hardest Period' in Her Marriage to David: 'The Most Unhappy I've Ever Been'

David and Victoria Beckham are pulling the curtain back on their relationship.

The former soccer player, 48, and fashion designer, 49, opened up about the early stages of their romance and marriage in Netflix's new documentary Beckham. While the four-part series focuses on David's rise to fame as an athlete, in the final episode, the couple also address a difficult time they had at the height of his success in 2003.

Referring to the period in their relationship when David was playing for Real Madrid in Spain in 2003, Victoria spoke candidly during the episode, saying it was "the most unhappy I've ever been in my entire life," and adding that the tabloid media involvement in their marriage during their time in the European country was the "hardest period for us."

"It felt like the world was against us," she said in an emotional part of the documentary. "And here’s the thing — we were against each other if I’m being completely honest."

"You know, up until Madrid sometimes it felt like us against everybody else but we were together, we were connected, we had each other," she explained. "When we were in Spain, it didn’t really feel like we had each other either. And that’s sad," she added. "I can’t even begin to tell you how hard it was and how it affected me."

"It was a nightmare. From the minute we opened the door in the morning, the press were there in cars and everywhere we went, we would get followed," she continued. "It was an absolute circus — it's really entertaining when the circus comes to town, right? Unless you're in it."

Asked if she resented her husband during that difficult period, Victoria said: "Did I resent David? If I'm being totally honest, yes I did."

"There was some horrible stories that were difficult to deal with," David added of that time. "It was the first time that me and Victoria had been put under that kind of pressure in our marriage. Every time that we woke up we felt that there was something else. I think we both felt at the time that we were, not losing each other, but drowning.’

"I don’t know how we got through it in all honesty," an emotional David said of the tough time in their marriage.

"Victoria is everything to me, to see her hurt was incredibly difficult, but we’re fighters and at that time we needed to fight for each other and we needed to fight for our family and what we had was worth fighting for," he continued.

"There were some days that I would wake up and think, 'How am I going to go to work? How am I going to work on to that training pitch? How am I going to look like nothing’s wrong?' I felt physically sick every day when I opened my eyes. 'How am I going to do this?’"

The couple tied the knot on July 4, 1999, after meeting at a soccer match in 1997. During their more than 20-year romance, they have welcomed four kids together — daughter Harper, 12, and sons Cruz, 18, Romeo, 21, and Brooklyn, 24.

After renewing their vows in 2017, David commented on the highs and lows of their marriage in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

“We know each other better than anybody. People have talked about, ‘Do we stay together because it’s a brand?’ Of course not. We stay together because we love each other, because we have four amazing children,” he said. “Do you go through tough times? Of course. That’s part of relationships. It’s part of marriages. It’s part of having children. It’s part of having responsibilities.”

In July, Victoria spoke about the longevity of their romance in an Instagram post that marked their 24th wedding anniversary. Next to sweet images of the two together, she wrote, “Still holding hands and still laughing (with you not just at you😂) I love you so much @davidbeckham xx."

While speaking about Beckham to PEOPLE, director Fisher Stevens shared that David was ready to share all parts of his story.

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“He wasn't what I expected at all. He was so open. He's like, I'm ready. I want to tell my story before someone else does," said Stevens, 59.

"And then I started doing research and I was like, ‘Jesus, this guy's life is nuts. Nuts.’ I had no idea. And then when I met with him and Victoria, I was like, 'Oh my God, they're going to be fun. They're going to be good. They're going to be fun and they're going to be difficult and it's going to be great.'”

Beckham begins streaming on Netflix on Wednesday.