Brooklyn Beckham’s feud with his parents escalated. Here’s what happened.

Not since 2020’s “Megxit” has a British family feud sent such shock waves across the pond.

Brooklyn Beckham, the oldest child of David and Victoria Beckham, has lashed out at his superstar parents in a blistering, multipart Instagram Story posted Monday. Reminiscent of Prince Harry’s scathing tell-all “Spare,” it revealed a shockingly detailed and candid look behind the scenes of a famous family that has gone to great lengths to cultivate their image.

Rumours and tabloid whispers about a rift between Brooklyn and his parents have circulated for years and escalated in recent weeks. Last month, Brooklyn’s younger brother, Cruz, posted on Instagram that Brooklyn had blocked his family on social media. Earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported that Brooklyn had requested that David and Victoria communicate with him only through his lawyers.

But then Brooklyn, 26, dropped the bombshell when he confirmed that he is estranged from his parents and accused them of manipulation and trying to sabotage his relationship with his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham. Several of his complaints stemmed from his 2022 wedding - including his fashion-designer mom allegedly canceling plans to make Nicola’s dress and hijacking the newlyweds’ first dance.

“Brand Beckham comes first,” Brooklyn wrote, claiming that his family prizes “public promotion and endorsements above all else.” He also accused his dad, David, of refusing to see him when the couple flew to London for the soccer megastar’s 50 birthday. “He refused all of our attempts, unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner,” Brooklyn wrote, adding that his wife was not invited.

The Beckhams did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment. Victoria and David Beckham have yet to publicly respond to their son’s allegations, which made the front page of various British tabloids.

So, what led to the current family drama that is playing out so publicly? Is this just wedding tension that never cooled - or something with a much longer veil?

Picture perfect - or so it seemed

People often think of the Beckhams as a kind of “unofficial royal family.” Last fall, David, one of the world’s most famous athletes, was knighted by King Charles III. Victoria, the former pop star and Spice Girl known as Posh Spice, has been a renowned fashion designer for decades. Over the years, David and Victoria have built a reputation for being the picture of family unity - always looking polished and perfectly coordinated while raising their four children: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

The Beckham kids have always received a lot of attention, particularly Brooklyn as he pursued various careers: photography, modelling, cooking. The latter landed him a social media cooking show (and some tabloid mockery about all the professionals hired to help him learn to cook) and he recently launched a brand of hot sauce.

Brooklyn and Nicola told Glamour that they started dating in late 2019 after connecting at Leonardo DiCaprio’s Halloween party. In April 2022, they tied the knot in a 500-person oceanfront wedding held at the Palm Beach estate of the Peltz’s family, an event heavily covered by the tabloids. Nicola, 31, is the daughter of former model Claudia Heffner Peltz and billionaire investor Nelson Peltz. After the wedding, the couple combined their last names, and Brooklyn became Brooklyn Peltz Beckham.

But something was clearly amiss. Vogue reported Nicola wore Valentino Haute Couture for her ceremony in an article detailing her wedding-day look, which was “the culmination of a year’s worth of conversations” with the luxury Italian label. Why didn’t Nicola wear one of Victoria’s designs? At the time, Victoria’s team said they couldn’t complete the dress in time for the big day.

But Brooklyn flipped that narrative on its head in his social media rant. “My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped,” he wrote. “My mom canceled making Nicola’s dress in the 11th hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress.”

Last year, rumours began circulating that the family wasn’t too fond of Nicola and that Brooklyn was caught in the middle of the tension. A few things led to the gossip: Brooklyn and Nicola were absent from David Beckham’s 50th birthday star-studded bash in May where Eva Longoria, Tom Cruise and Gordon Ramsay dined with the Beckhams. Then the couple renewed their vows last summer but the Beckhams were missing. Page Six reported at the time that Brooklyn didn’t mention his parents in his “heartfelt speech.”

‘It’s not a feud!’

Nicola said in an interview with the Times of London in October 2022 that there was absolutely no feud between her and her mother-in-law. “It’s not a feud! I keep seeing everywhere that word, ‘feud, feud, feud!’” Nicola said.

“It’s not a feud!” she insisted. “Why do they say feud? You know, no family is perfect. No family.”

Nicola said much of the speculation traces back to her decision to not wear a Victoria Beckham design at her wedding. She insisted that wasn’t the plan.

“I really, really wanted to wear it,” she said, adding that she thought it was that special Brooklyn’s mom would make her a dress and that she was genuinely excited to wear it. “It makes me sad when people say I was never planning to. That’s just not true.”

A year later, Victoria and David both posted pictures celebrating Nicola’s 28th birthday. Victoria posted a casual photo of her and Nicola with the caption, “Happy Birthday @NicolaAnnePeltzBeckham Hope you have a lovely day!!! X.”

Then, in February 2024, Victoria was by her daughter-in-law’s side at the Los Angeles red-carpet premiere of “Lola,” which marked Nicola’s directorial debut. “They’re the most amazing people. And the fact that Victoria flew out to support me, meant so much to me,” Nicola said in an appearance on NBC’s “Today” shortly after the event.

Crisis management

Mentions in the tabloids about family strife began bubbling up again soon after, and observers noticed that Brooklyn wasn’t present at high-profile events with his close-knit parents and siblings. Some framed it as Nicola pulling Brooklyn away from his family. Others said it was the couple setting boundaries.

According to reports, Brooklyn and Nicola retained attorney Jenny Afia, the same prominent lawyer used by Prince Harry and Meghan, as the two faced media scrutiny. Afia previously represented Meghan in her privacy and copyright case against British publishers and appeared in the BBC documentary “The Princess and the Press.”

The move came after the duke and duchess reportedly hosted an intimate dinner with Brooklyn and Nicola in May 2025.

The bridge tumbles for all to see

Victoria Beckham’s self-titled Netflix documentary premiered in October 2025, but Brooklyn and Nicola were not at the premiere, which the rest of the family attended. The couple were also barely featured in the series itself. Vanity Fair reported that the two “have consciously avoided family reunions for months.”

By late December, it became clear that Brooklyn was no longer following his family on Instagram and they weren’t following him either. The Daily Mail ran a story with the headline, “David and Victoria Beckham UNFOLLOW estranged son Brooklyn,” prompting Cruz Beckham, Brooklyn’s younger brother, to break his silence. He shared a screenshot of the article to his Instagram Story with “NOT TRUE” written underneath. The 20-year-old continued, “My mum and dad would never unfollow their son.. Let’s get the facts right. They woke up blocked … as did I.”

David did not include any pics of Brooklyn in his 20-photo New Year’s Eve 2025 recap post on Instagram despite including numerous snapshots with Victoria and their other three children.

Now, at the start of 2026, Brooklyn has decided to say his piece to his 16 million IG followers.

“I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed,” the model and photographer began.

“My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we’ve tried to come together as one,” Brooklyn continued in his six-page missive.

“I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”

On Tuesday morning, David had a scheduled appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” and spoke about “the power of social media - for the good and for the bad.”

“Children are allowed to make mistakes,” he added. “That is how they learn.”

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