Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz's Feud with David and Victoria Explodes: Inside the Drama and What It'll Take to Heal (Exclusive)
- - Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz's Feud with David and Victoria Explodes: Inside the Drama and What It'll Take to Heal (Exclusive)
Gillian TellingJanuary 27, 2026 at 8:00 AM
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The new cover of PEOPLE, on stands Friday, dives deep into Beckham family feud -
The latest PEOPLE cover dives into the division between the Beckham family and explains what's really going on behind the scenes
Sources say David and Victoria are 'horrified' by their son Brooklyn's shocking recent claims, but would still take him back 'in a minute'
Another source says Brooklyn and Nicola are fine without reconciling anytime soon
In just two months, Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham will be marking their fourth wedding anniversary.
But instead of reflecting on happy memories, the couple are still nursing wounds from a lavish—and dramatic—wedding day that fractured a delicate relationship between the young couple and Brooklyn’s superstar parents, David and Victoria Beckham.
What began as family drama over perceived slights regarding a wedding dress (Brooklyn claims his mom pulled out of designing his wife’s gown “in the eleventh hour”) and a special dance between the newlyweds (“hijacked” by Victoria, says Brooklyn) has now turned into a full-blown public battle that has the world wondering: How on earth did things get this bad? And who is actually to blame?
The new issue of PEOPLE, which covers the Beckham family feud, will be on stands Friday
While there’s little Brooklyn and his parents currently see eye to eye on, sources from both sides all agree: There are no winners.
Rumors of friction between the couples—who only speak through lawyers now, says a source—first began circulating last May. Still, neither the Beckhams, Brooklyn or Nicola publicly addressed the feud until Jan. 19, when Brooklyn, 26, unleashed a string of scathing Instagram posts deriding his parents and blaming them for everything from his lifelong anxiety issues to trying to “ruin” his marriage.
Mia Regan, Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Harper Beckham, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz attend the Netflix 'Beckham' UK Premiere
Karwai Tang/WireImage
A Brooklyn source says the reason he did so is because he and Nicola, 31, believe that David, 50, and Victoria, 51, are personally behind all the bad press he and his wife have received over the last several years.
“They are so beaten down,” says a Brooklyn source. In his shocking social media post, Brooklyn insisted that he has “received endless attacks from my parents, both privately and publicly, that were sent to the press on their orders.” (Reps for David and Victoria declined to comment to PEOPLE.)
In his lengthy note, Brooklyn also slammed the notion that Nicola is controlling him, calling the idea “completely” backward.
“I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared,” he wrote, adding, “I do not want to reconcile with my family... I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose and have found peace.”
Sources tell People that David and Victoria were stunned and saddened by the public rant.
“They are staying quiet because they don’t want to draw more attention to it,” a source says of the pair, who put on a brave face days later on Jan. 24 at the 50th birthday party for Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton, Victoria’s former Spice Girls bandmate. Though they’re stinging from their son’s strong words, “David and Victoria love Brooklyn and are afraid of losing their son,” insists another insider. “They would take him back in a minute.”
Multiple Brooklyn and Nicola sources say that same invitation does not seem to be extended to Nicola, an actress who grew up in Bedford, N.Y., and Palm Beach, as one of 10 children of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz, 83, (he shares 8 with Nicola’s mom, Claudia, 70).
“The Beckhams have no intention of reconciling with their son unless Nicola is out of the picture,” says a source familiar with the situation. “But that’s not an ultimatum he’s going to cave on. Brooklyn has felt more support from his wife in these past three years than from his parents in his entire life.”
Nicola Peltz-Beckham with her husband Brooklyn and her parents in December 2025.
Nicola Peltz-Beckham/Instagram
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Insiders say the hostility between the Beckhams and their daughter-in-law goes far beyond a dress and ruined dance. “Victoria and Nicola got along in the first few months, but then Victoria started acting like a jealous girlfriend,” a Peltz family source says. “She seemed so jealous of Nicola.” Not so, counters a Beckham insider: “Nicola is the one who is jealous of Victoria. She wants to be famous.”
Tensions came to a head when Nicola and Brooklyn were planning their 2022 nuptials. While Victoria had originally agreed to design Nicola’s dress, the Spice Girl said she was “too busy” when Nicola asked about fittings and fabric selections, says a Peltz family source, who adds that Victoria called Nicola’s mom, Claudia, to say she couldn’t make the gown after all.
Brooklyn and Nicola's 2022 British Vogue cover
Nicola instead wore a custom Valentino design, which she said in a 2022 British Vogue interview took a year of planning.
However, another source says she was always meant to wear two dresses. As for the now infamous Marc Anthony-backed dance, so disastrous that a distraught Nicola ran from the room in tears after seeing Victoria dancing “very inappropriately,” according to her husband? The couple’s wedding deejay, Fat Tony, acknowledged on ITV’s This Morning that the moment was indeed “really awkward” for the newlyweds and their guests.
“Marc Anthony asked ‘the most beautifulest woman in the room’ to come to the stage, and he says, ‘Victoria, come to the stage,’” recalled Tony, adding that Brooklyn was “devastated.”
Multiple sources say the Beckhams and Peltzes never meshed. “Their families are so different,” a Peltz source says, who adds that the ultra-wealthy—and private—family can't relate to the Beckhams’ life of extreme fame.
Nicola Peltz & Brooklyn Beckham renewed their vows in Bedford.N.Y. in August 2025
Nicola Beckham/Instagram
David and Victoria have long happily lived in the spotlight—David as one of the most successful soccer players of all time, and Victoria, who found mega fame in the ‘90s as a Spice Girl before turning to clothing design—and are “very strategic about everything they do because they are basically a billion-dollar corporation,” the Beckham source says.
Adds another insider: “They have to be strategic and smart about moves they make.” Even now, they have no regrets about how they raised their kids. Says the source: “They always supported Brooklyn in everything."
But his struggle to find his path may be part of the problem.
As a kid, Brooklyn played soccer and showed promise, but when he was dropped by Arsenal’s youth club, he quit the sport altogether at 15, citing pressure and anxiety. He studied photography at an arts high school back in London, and then attended Parsons School of Design in New York for a year. He also dabbled in modeling, cooking, and most recently, launched a hot sauce line.
David Beckham, then the midfielder for Manchester United, carries his son Brooklyn on his shoulders in 2002
Phil Noble - PA Images/PA Images via Getty
Psychotherapist and author Jonathan Alpert says it’s not uncommon for kids of celebrities to struggle with anxiety and finding their direction.
“They lack psychological privacy growing up,” he says. “Normal mistakes, identity exploration, and growing pains happen under observation. That pressure can lead to a constant fear of disappointing others. Being compared to extraordinarily successful parents can make it difficult to build confidence or a sense of independence.”
Aside from feeling unheard, Brooklyn also claimed that David and Victoria were trying to meddle with his finances.
“Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children,” he wrote. “My holdout affected the payday and they have never treated me the same since.”
Records from the U.K.’s Intellectual Property Office show that Victoria owns the trademarks on the names of all four of her children, including for Brooklyn’s siblings Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 14. But a source close to the family insists the situation is a “misunderstanding,” explaining Victoria obtained them when her children were minors and unable to file for themselves.
Brooklyn and Nicola were notably absent from the Oct. 2025 premiere for the Victoria Beckham docuseries. (From left, Cruz Beckham, Jackie Apostel, Romeo Beckham, Harper Beckham, Victoria Beckham and David Beckham)
Karwai Tang/WireImage
After Brooklyn publicly blasted his parents, multiple sources say the rift, for now, appears permanent. Those in Brooklyn and Nicola’s circle say the couple are eager to start a family of their own—making the family feud all the more painful. While much of it has played out publicly, Alpert says any lasting reconciliation should take place in private—with open hearts and ears.
“Healing doesn’t begin with determining who’s right. Blaming will not help. Parents need to listen without immediately explaining intent, while adult children need space to express boundaries,” he says.
Though Brooklyn has firmly drawn a line in the sand, “David and Victoria believe that over time Brooklyn will come back,” says a family source. “But they can’t do anything until then.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
