The severe illness David Beckham's son Romeo is coping with
Victoria and David Beckham may be one of the most successful and most beautiful power couples in the world. However, despite having impressive careers and four beautiful children, they do not have a perfect life and have had to face some difficult challenges.
One of the biggest challenges they have faced together is their son Romeo’s health condition. Click on to read about the family's trials and victories on the road to discover why their child was unwell.
Between 2002 and 2006, Victoria had to make multiple urgent trips to the hospital with her young son Romeo. To make matters worse, the family's life in the spotlight, constantly being photographed with bright flashes, only made Romeo's condition worse.
Since the constant barrage of photos being taken of the family was incessant wherever they went, Romeo was in constant danger. So, Victoria was forced to disclose her son’s health condition.
One instance in particular, at the Heathrow airport in 2006, when the family was returning to Madrid from a trip to Britain, led the family to share Romeo’s health problem publicly.
Romeo became scared and agitated while being photographed. He had to brusquely cover his face to shield his eyes from the flash, and Victoria also protected him and quickly ushered him into the car.
According to Pop Sugar, when young Romeo entered the car, he began to scream and thrash about when a photographer put his camera inside the vehicle. Victoria, who was 32 at the time, shielded her young son and shouted “Leave him alone” at the photographer.
People Magazine reported that Posh Spice then angrily informed the photographers, “He’s got epilepsy…all that flashing will start an epileptic fit…you can’t do that.” The incident caught the public’s eye, turned out to have a very reasonable explanation, and Victoria was only trying to protect her son.
According to PopSugar, even though Romeo received treatment for his condition and took the necessary medicine, flash photography could still cause a life-threatening seizure. Thus, the Beckhams had no choice but to speak up about their son’s epilepsy.
Photo: romeobeckham@instagram
Following the incident, Kevin Smith, the owner of Splash News, the agency that had been trying to photograph Romeo, made a statement saying, “No picture is worth putting a child’s life in danger. Now that we know Romeo has epilepsy, I will not be authorizing any of my photographers to take flash pictures of him. I think this is absolutely the right thing to do, and I hope other agencies follow suit.”
Photo: romeobeckham@instagram
According to CURE Epilepsy, around 65 million people have epilepsy, making it the fourth most common neurological disorder globally. Epilepsy affects people of all ages and causes them to have several kinds of seizures.
This neurological disorder may result in physical injuries such as broken bones and contusions if the individual is not in a safe position or place when a seizure occurs. Many sufferers must take medication for the rest of their lives.
Photo: romeobeckham@instagram
In Romeo's case, it seems that his condition is under control, and the young man has not let epilepsy hold him back in life. He has accomplished quite a lot already. In 2014 he starred in Burberry's first Christmas campaign, boosting the company's sales around the world. He still enjoys modelling to this day.
During the summer of 2015, young Romeo made headlines when he ran in a children's race during the London Marathon. Romeo was accompanied by his whole family, who wore "Team Romeo" t-shirts. Romeo ran the three-mile race in just 18 minutes and 54 seconds. Not only that, the youngster raised $8,500 for UNAIDS and 7 Fund.
Romeo's epilepsy certainly hasn't prevented him from enjoying sports like his football star father, David Beckham. For a while, it seemed like tennis was going to be Romeo's sport of choice, but in the end, he followed in his father's footsteps.
Photo: romeobeckham@instagram
These days, one thing is clear Romeo Beckham isn’t a little kid anymore! He is in his early twenties and has grown even taller than his 6-foot tall father, David Beckham. The young man recently joined the USL League One club in Fort Lauderdale, CF, in September of 2021. Previously he had been training with Inter Miami.
Photo: romeobeckham@instagram
Romeo Beckham made his professional football debut on September 19th, 2021, in which he played alongside Harvey Neville. Harvey is the son of David Beckham's former teammate Phil Neville, and the pair played together for Manchester United.
In January 2023, according to CNN, Romeo joined Premier League Brentford’s B team for the rest of the season on a loan deal from MLS NEXT Pro club Inter Miami CF II.
In any case, and thanks to his parents' support and protection, Romeo can live a great life, and the world is his oyster.