After years of simmering tension, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham lashed out at his famous parents, Victoria and David Beckham, in a series of searing posts shared to Instagram on Jan. 19. Among other accusations, the 26-year-old claimed his mom and dad have been “trying endlessly to ruin” his relationship with his wife, actress Nicola Peltz Beckham, 31, since before their April 2022 wedding, and have been manipulating the media with “countless lies” to “preserve their own facade” amid reports of a family estrangement.
Brooklyn also said his mother “hijacked” his first dance with Nicola at their $4 million Palm Beach nuptials and “danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life,” he wrote, bluntly noting that he has no desire to heal the deep rift. “I do not want to reconcile with my family.”
One source tells Us Weekly Victoria was “inconsolable” after Brooklyn’s social media tirade. “She was completely blown away that Brooklyn went to this level,” the source says, adding that the designer, 51, texted with Brooklyn “briefly” over the holidays and believed things were moving in a positive direction. “She and David never thought he’d do something like this.” The source notes that Brooklyn has long felt controlled by Victoria and his 50-year-old soccer star dad (also parents to Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 14). A second source says Brooklyn reached his breaking point and felt that sharing his side publicly “was the only way to get through to them.”
Family issues have been bubbling up for some time. “This is not new, and it has nothing to do with Nicola,” says the first source,” adding that Brooklyn “always felt like he had controlling parents in terms of what they wanted him to do. It was more about what they wanted and not what he wanted.”
Brooklyn was especially unhappy about “the public nature” of the family, says the source. “He’s always felt like the media was more important than him.” A Beckham family source says Brooklyn resented having to play a certain part. “Brooklyn’s life has been commodified since the day he was born,” the source says. “His birth announcement was sold, and from there, many of his life moments became public. His image and personal life became part of a larger brand with his relationships and career closely followed and often monetized.” (On IG, Brooklyn claimed David and Victoria tried to bribe him into signing away the rights to his name before his wedding.)
His bond with Nicola — and her parents, Nelson and Claudia Peltz — appears to have given Brooklyn a new perspective. “He has an amazing relationship with her mom and dad. He’s never had that kind of closeness before,” says the first source. “His parents’ controlling ways have been more exposed since he got married.” Adds a fourth source: “Brooklyn’s exposure to a healthy relationship made him question his own family and upbringing.”
Brooklyn Beckham’s Quotes About His Family: No Interest in Reconciling, More
The second source says Nicola has “driven a wedge” between her husband and his parents and siblings. (Brooklyn said that his brothers “were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere” over the summer; Cruz previously claimed Brooklyn had blocked the entire family shortly before Christmas.) “Nicola is the driving force in their marriage,” says the source. “She says Brooklyn can do what he wants, but there’s a layer of control there, especially because her family fully supports them financially.” (Nicola’s father, Nelson, is the founder of an investment firm and former director of the Heinz brand; his net worth is estimated at $1.6 billion.) “David and Victoria are good people,” adds the first source. “They didn’t try to force Brooklyn into anything; they’ve always been a public family, it’s just the life they’ve had.”
Both sides have dramatically different takes on Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding. “No one really remembers the dance with Victoria,” says the first source, noting that guests didn’t notice the bride being upstaged. A fifth source questions why Brooklyn’s claims hadn’t come up earlier. “This was not, like, an ‘inner circle’ wedding. There were lots more random people, and none of this came out before?” But the Beckham family source says guests were well aware there was drama. “Nicola rushed off crying and had to be coerced to come to the afterparty. Victoria nuzzled on Brooklyn’s neck and he made a face. It was inappropriate and weird.”
While Brooklyn alleges his mom canceled making Nicola’s dress “in the eleventh hour,” the second source says the actress wasn’t left high and dry. “Nicola was always going to wear another designer’s dress. Victoria’s was an option.” She walked down the aisle in custom Valentino Haute Couture, with her former stylist telling Vogue in 2022 that the look took a year to come together.
Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s Relationship Timeline
While Victoria and Nicola appeared to initially hit it off, sources say they are fundamentally different women. “Nicola is shy and kind by nature,” says the first source. “Victoria thrives on control and optics. It was oil and water from the start. Nicola tried to connect, but Victoria has a very specific circle and energy. It just hasn’t been the warmest dynamic.” Adds the source: “Victoria can be irreverent and sarcastic, while Brooklyn is sensitive. With Nicola in his ear… his perception of events is different.”
The couple was upset when Victoria declined to promote a dog charity in early 2025. “The one time my wife asked for my mum’s support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused,” Brooklyn wrote in his post. “Victoria said ‘No, it’s off-brand for me,’” claims the Beckham family source. “It deeply hurt them.”
They appear to be at an impasse. The fourth source says Brooklyn has attempted to set boundaries with his parents “to no avail,” adding, “the Beckhams find it easier to blame Nicola for ‘taking away their son’ instead of reflecting on their own shortcomings.” While the Beckham family source says David and Victoria “have not been apologetic at all or instrumental in trying to mend things,” the second source says the designer has “made several attempts to reach out” and that Brooklyn has “ignored all attempts at a reconciliation.” (In early January, The Daily Mail reported he sent a legal letter to his parents requesting they only contact him via lawyers.)
Despite the intensity of Brooklyn’s accusations, the first source says he and Nicola are relatively unbothered. “Brooklyn’s living his life. He’s happy, rich and has everything going for him. He has freedom. He and Nicola are not sitting around waiting for a phone call.” Adds another Beckham family source: “Brooklyn will always stand by his wife.”
All of the Family Drama at Brooklyn Beckham’s Wedding to Nicola Explained
Victoria and David are heartbroken. “David misses how close they all used to be,” says the Beckham family source. (While discussing children and social media during his Jan. 20 appearance on Squawk Box, David said his kids “make mistakes, but children are allowed to make mistakes. That is how they learn.”) “Victoria wants to fix this, but she’s blocked and doesn’t have a way to communicate with Brooklyn right now,” says the fifth source, adding, “There’s no way she’ll give up. This is her son.”
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