David Beckham and Katherine Jenkins faced a tense reunion at Wimbledon as the championships kicked off on Monday, nine years after the football icon's furious remarks about the Welsh singer came to light. The former England captain was in the Royal Box with his mother Sandra to catch the opening day's play at SW19.
Jenkins and her husband Andrew Levitas sat directly behind them at the iconic tennis tournament. It comes two years after the footballer and mezzo-soprano had an awkward encounter in the same box, following the emergence of Beckham's emails about her.
The Leaked Emails
After Jenkins received an OBE in the New Year Honours in 2014 for her services to music and charity work, while Beckham was passed over for a knighthood, the ex-Three Lions skipper hit out at the decision in an email to his advisor, which was later leaked in 2017.
"Katherine Jenkins OBE for what?" the email read. "Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F***ing joke."
Jenkins subsequently admitted to being hurt by Beckham's comments, disclosing that the footballer had not contacted her to apologise.
Jenkins' Response
"You're just minding your own business and you get caught up in this massive storm," she told The Sun in 2018. "You just think, 'Aw, I wasn't doing anything'. To get caught up in that wasn't pleasant."
"I don't know why, again, that was aimed at me. I also don't feel the need to defend this, by the way. I know what I've done and when I got the OBE it was given to me for music and for charity."
"It's obviously disappointing. I've never heard anything from them about it. It doesn't matter. Priorities are my kids, my family, my singing, my charities and that's just white noise in the background."
Drug Use Admission
Beckham's remark about 'coke' came after Jenkins had previously confessed to taking illegal substances - including cocaine, ecstasy and MDMA - until the age of 23.
"I felt like I had to be honest, that was the thing," she said. "I look back and I think it was the right thing to do and I definitely don't regret talking about it. I think it was something that needed to be addressed."
Previous Denials and Knighthood
The row erupted just over five years after Jenkins firmly and publicly dismissed rumours of an affair with Beckham, following speculation that had spread across social media.
Beckham, meanwhile, finally received his knighthood last year, in recognition of his services to sport and charity. Also present in the Royal Box on Monday were actor and playwright Sir Mark Rylance, TV presenter Alexander Armstrong, singer Ronan Keating, food writer and chef Dame Mary Berry and former Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly.
