Victoria Beckham says she struggled to find a purpose after going from being in the Spice Girls to being a mom.
During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of “Call Her Daddy,” the singer-turned-fashion designer spoke about feeling lost in the early days of motherhood.
She and her husband, David Beckham, married in 1999. They have four kids: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper.
“I had Brooklyn. I moved to Manchester, which is where David was living and playing for Manchester United. And by this point, he is on the first team; he’s a big star,” Beckham told podcast host Alex Cooper. “And it was quite the transition for me because I was so happy to be with David, to have a baby. I felt so blessed, but I felt a bit lost as well.”
Beckham said it was “tough” to go from performing on stage and traveling the world with her friends to “being in a flat in Manchester on your own with a baby.”
“It was really difficult because on one hand, I felt so lucky, and so blessed, and so in love, but I was struggling to find my sense of purpose, and I felt ashamed to admit that I didn’t feel entirely fulfilled,” Beckham said.
As much as she was trying to be supportive of her husband’s career, which was taking off, she was searching for her identity again, she said.
“I felt like there was a clock in my head that was just tick, tick, tick, tick, ticking away, and I just struggled to figure out what was next,” Beckham said, adding that she felt “guilty” for wanting more.
That ultimately pushed her to build something of her own — her eponymous fashion brand, which she launched in 2008.
Looking back, Beckham says returning to work was one of the best decisions she ever made.
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“Being so much older now, I am so thankful and so grateful. And if ever I can offer anyone any advice, for whatever it’s worth, if you have the opportunity to go back to work — which I was lucky, I did have that opportunity. I am so glad I did. I am so glad I did.” Beckham said.
A representative for Beckham did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
Other celebrity moms have also spoken about returning to work and finding their identity after having children.
In December, Nicole Kidman said her mom encouraged her to keep working and not give up on her career after she had kids.
“And that came from a woman who obviously was from a generation that didn’t have the opportunities that I had, but she had helped create for her daughters,” Kidman said, adding that her mom probably wished she had that advice when she was younger.
In August, Ayesha Curry said she doesn’t want motherhood to be her whole identity, even if she experiences mom guilt.
“Like, for me, being married and with my husband, if you lose all of those things that were interesting about you, even for yourself, even the things that made me feel confident and cool, then like, what are you doing?” Curry said.
