As far as Jackie Apostel was concerned, it was just another job.
The singer turned songwriter, and sometime model, then 28, had been drafted in by her manager to help an up-and-coming 18-year-old hone his body of work and find his feet on the music scene.
The teenager’s name? Cruz Beckham, the youngest son of former Spice Girl Victoria and footballing legend David who, presumably, would be footing the bill for Jackie’s time.
Having been born in Sao Paulo to a Brazilian mother and German father, and growing up between the two countries, how familiar Jackie was with the Posh and Becks brand is unclear.
But she is unlikely to have been starstruck: she’d previously worked with some of the biggest names in the Portuguese music industry, and his ‘fame’ was not an issue.
No matter the age gap, the pair certainly had a lot in common as Jackie, who had just moved to London to pursue her songwriting career, was a self described ‘studio rat’ and Cruz spent most of his strumming on a guitar.
It was hoped they would create a songwriting and producing partnership that would put the budding musician in with a good chance of releasing a decent roster of songs as his debut EP.
Jackie more than fulfilled the brief; Cruz put together an indie-rock album, which he has been promoting with a series of intimate performances, among them a show at east London’s legendary George Tavern this week.
Cruz and his band have been the opening act for The Royston Club
Jackie was oringally assigned to help Cruz work on his music
His debut double single EP, curiously named Optics/Lick the Toad, was released on Friday.
And it was down to Jackie who was, the Daily Mail is told, absolutely ‘crucial’ to the whole thing, with one insider commenting: ‘She has been with him every step of the way. She has helped with every song. She was there when he created the music videos. She has been at every gig. Without Jackie there would be no Cruz album.’
But what everyone knows now, however, is that something else came out of that studio time, something that went far beyond music.
Jackie and Cruz also fell in love over the music decks – despite their ten-year age difference – and she has been welcomed into the Beckham family fold.
Victoria and David are said to be ‘over the moon’ with the romance and her guiding influence on their son’s music career – which was clearly worth every penny.
Opening up for the first time about their unlikely union, Jackie took to Instagram this week to describe how she and Cruz got together.
Addressing him directly, she wrote: ‘I was told you had been working on your own project for ages and sifting sounds a bit, finding yourself.
‘I went in with an open mind and no idea what to expect.
‘I left that day knowing you were an unbelievable musician but, most importantly, that you loved it so much from the bottom of your heart and you would never stop, regardless of what anyone else thought.’
Cruz is, no doubt, bracing himself for the barrage of nepotism accusations that are undoubtedly heading his way.
Jackie was quick to share her boyfriend’s performances on social media
The sign announcing the youngest Beckham boy’s surprise performance
Vanishingly few budding teenage musicians have the clout, name and money, to get into this notoriously hard-to-crack business.
But Jackie has been a staunch defender of his talent since the beginning and is ready to publicly come out in his defence whenever any internet troll strikes.
She signed off her gushing tribute to Cruz, saying: ‘During the time that work became friendship and friendship became us.
‘You’ve gone out and found who you want to be right now and are finally ready to share it, and this is just a fun little warm up.
‘I hope you guys are ready for what’s next.
‘Cruz, I am so proud of you. I love seeing you do everything you said you would. I am your biggest fan forever. I love you.’
The couple were first spotted together at Glastonbury last year but they did not go public with their relationship until last October when the love-struck Cruz wished her a happy 29th birthday on Instagram.
Insiders say Jackie is the ‘perfect partner for Cruz’ both musically and romantically as she shares his passion but is also ‘incredibly kind’ and they have been ‘inseparable’ since they began dating.
When someone commented on a picture of Cruz and Jackie at Victoria’s Paris Fashion Show this month, ‘Why is a 29-year-old [Jackie turned 30 on October 18] dating a 20-year -old. That’s just weird. I’m talking about Jackie dating Cruz.’
The model was quick to fire back in her boyfriend’s defence: ‘Because he’s kind, funny, smart, caring, driven, mature, talented, loyal, and also quite handsome.’
And quite hard-working too, it seems. He and his band, Cruz Beckham and The Breakers, have appeared as the ‘secret’ support act for Welsh indie band The Royston Club, who have helped the youngster hone his frontman skills, at a gig in Brighton on Friday, and then in Birmingham and Bristol last weekend.
Cruz and Jackie perform Islands in the Stream at David’s 50th birthday black-tie bash
And cheering in the crowd at every performance was not his famous family, but Jackie.
She has documented each and every gig, gushing on her social media: ‘Unannounced, just working on his craft, doing his little thing, having fun, learning, preparing, all HIS songs made by HIM played by HIM sang by HIM, absolutely smashing it, I love you.’
The forthcoming album, which is said to be titled Lick The Toad, after its leading track, comes from the strange phenomenon of teenagers licking Sonoran Desert toads, an amphibian that secretes a potent toxin which some say has psychedelic effects.
The new song finally provides context for the clues that have been popping up on Cruz’s social media account for months.
Cruz started dropping hints in April, when he posted an image of a cartoon frog on Instagram.
In the succeeding months he has shared snaps and videos of his band rehearsing, captioning one post in June with two emojis: a tongue and a frog.
Later in July, Cruz shared a sneak peek of his new music, strumming his guitar in the back of a car and singing the lyrics ‘Green day in Paris’, before appearing in the city for Fashion Week, where he sported a pair of £370 quirky green toad clogs from JW Anderson while walking hand-in-hand with Jackie.
Jackie was also wearing green heels and bright green leather gloves.
A source tells the Daily Mail: ‘Jackie clearly knows how to create hype around her boyfriend. It’s reminiscent of the way Victoria has helped carefully shape David Beckham’s post-football career. She’s certainly taken a leaf out of her book.’
It is often said that Jackie and Victoria share an uncanny resemblance with their slender figures and brunette hair.
But Victoria and David are said to ‘adore’ Jackie, who’s provided a welcome distraction from the pain of their on-going feud with estranged oldest son Brooklyn, and his wife Nicola.
‘She’s just so much fun,’ said a friend of the couple.
There were no congratulatory messages from Brooklyn to his baby brother this week.
Victoria, however, wasted no time in gushing birthday greetings to Jackie, who turned 30 ten days ago.
Sharing a sweet picture in the back of a chauffeured car with Jackie, Victoria wrote: ‘Happy birthday, we hope you have an amazing day and can’t wait to celebrate with you.
‘We all love you @jackie.apostel,’ she added.
Elsewhere David added snaps and wrote: ‘Happy birthday to a very special person inside and out.’
Although mum Victoria might want to close her ears for some of her son’s lyrics, as Cruz gives an insight into his private life – one that hints at drugs and sex.
He sings: ‘Take a thousand selfies in your bed while I trip in mine / I love me some mushrooms and good head and an erotic 69’.
The chorus repeats: ‘Stay high fashion, no comedown, no crashing but you wanna know how it looks, I wanna know how it feels’.
