When Victoria Beckham met David Beckham in 1997, it was just one of those inevitable things. While in their respective corners she was one-fifth of pop sensation the Spice Girls and he was an up-and-coming Manchester United midfielder, together they became Posh and Becks, the UK.’s most glamorous couple. They quickly transcended the confines of regional fame and turned into a full-on global sensation, paparazzi snapping away wherever they went, in good times and bad. And the times got particularly bad for a spell. “I don’t know how we got through it, in all honesty,” David said in the Netflix docuseries Beckham, reflecting on explosive 2004 cheating allegations that he adamantly denied but which still threatened to relegate his marriage to divorce court. “Victoria’s 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, we needed to fight for our family. And what we had was worth fighting for.”‘ Victoria agreed that it was “the hardest period for us. Because it felt like the world was against us. And here’s the thing: We were against each other, if I’m being completely honest.” The parents of four are celebrating 25 years of marriage on July 4, a testament to just how much they wanted to stay on the same team. In fact, it was a different sort of team setting when Victoria first spied her husband in 1997 while hanging out, appropriately enough, in the Man U players’ lounge. “While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family. And he has such a cute smile,” Victoria wrote in a letter to her 18-year-old self, a bit of homework for British Vogue in 2016. “You, too, are close to your family and you will think how similar he feels to you. He’s going to ask for your number.” “She stalked me,” David joked to W in 2007 when asked how they met before acknowledging, “I fancied her.” In fact, he claims he saw a Spice Girls video in 1996, before they met in person and said to his teammate Gary Neville, “‘That one there, that’s the girl I’m going to marry.'” As grown-up Victoria wrote to younger Victoria, “…love at first sight does exist…although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy.” “I’m quite shy. I just waved from the other side of the bar,” David recalled to W, noting that he actually blew it on day one by not asking her out. A week later, Victoria and a fellow Spice Girl attended another game and rest assured he didn’t miss that shot. She wrote her number down on the aforementioned plane ticket, he called her the next day and drove down to London later that same night to see her.