Amid the serious implications of the real-world news, sometimes a celebrity feud can feel like a breath of fresh air. At least, that’s the general mood among my group chats, where we’re dissecting the Beckham family drama. The whispered tension between the eldest Beckham child, his wife, and his parents exploded into the public sphere after Brooklyn Beckham posted a series of explosive Instagram Stories earlier this week. The family strife started years ago, and it’s a lot to keep track of, so we’ve parsed out the major developments below.
The Beckham Family Drama: A Timeline
The rumors started when Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz got married — and the bride didn't wear Victoria Beckham
Rumors have been swirling for years of a fraught relationship between David and Victoria Beckham and their eldest son, Brooklyn. The whispers began in 2022, when 26-year-old Brooklyn married 31-year-old actress Nicola Peltz. Fans noticed the bride didn’t wear a dress made by her new mother-in-law, a fashion designer known for gowns, which caused them to wonder if there was tension between them.
The Beckhams initially stayed silent on the rumors, but six months later — in August 2022 — the newlyweds gave a few interviews that seemed to clear up the questions around the dress. Peltz told Variety she was “going to and really wanted to” wear a dress by Victoria, but “a few months down the line, she realised that her atelier couldn’t do it, so then I had to pick another dress.”
Brooklyn and Nicola are noticeably absent from Victoria's birthday
That seemed to mostly squash the rumors, but things picked up again around the Beckhams’ 50th birthdays. Victoria turned the big 5-0 in April 2024, and Peltz was noticeably missing from the star-studded bash. But Peltz was quick to clear up her absence on Instagram, writing that she was visiting her grandmother (who ended up passing away a month later).
“Happy birthday to my beautiful mil @victoriabeckham,” she wrote. “[I’m] so sad [I’m] not there to celebrate you and hug you. Sending all my love from me and my naunni. I miss you all so much!”
It wasn’t until May 2025, when David turned 50, that it became hard to ignore that something really seemed wrong between Brooklyn and his parents. Neither Brooklyn nor his wife was at the celebrations. At the time, sources told PEOPLE that the couple were invited, but “there are tensions between Brooklyn and Nicola and the family.” One source said the parents were “hurt and disappointed that he’s now playing no part in family life." However, another source said that the real reason they skipped the event was that Brooklyn didn’t want to be around his brother Romeo’s then-girlfriend, Kim Turnbull, because Brooklyn was “once linked” to her.
"Brooklyn didn't want to be in the same room as her, and he told his dad that," the source said. "But David opted to have Kim there over Nicola."
However, Kim has denied ever having a romantic relationship with Brooklyn. To quote Oprah, So what is the truth?
Brooklyn and Nicola are ignored in London over David's birthday
Also at the time, sources told PEOPLE that Brooklyn and Nicola spent six days in London trying to spend time with David and were “shut out” — a claim that seems more true now, given Brooklyn’s recent explosive revelations.
Even more fuel was added to the fire in August 2025, when Brooklyn and Nicola had a vow renewal ceremony — and not a single Beckham was in attendance. And two months later, David received his knighthood at Windsor Castle, but Brooklyn and Nicola skipped the ceremony and didn't post about it on social media. At this point, it was hard to deny that the relationship was, at the very least, strained.
Then, in December 2025, rumors circulated that Victoria and David had unfollowed Brooklyn and Nicola. Cruz Beckham set the record straight on social media: “NOT TRUE. My mum and dad would never unfollow their son,” he posted. “Let’s get the facts right. They woke up blocked…as did I.”
This all brings us to this past weekend, when Brooklyn finally spoke out to tell his side of the story.
What did Brooklyn Beckham say about his family?
Over six Instagram Story slides, Brooklyn made explosive claims about his parents.
"I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private," he began. He accused his parents and their team of repeatedly leaking stories about him to the media, “leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed."
Right off the bat, he wanted to make one thing clear: "I do not want to reconcile with my family. I'm not being controlled [by Nicola], I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life."
“For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family,” he said. “The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.”
Then, he dropped quite a few bombshells. He said his parents “have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding,” and that Victoria “repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us uncomfortable,” which could be a reference to David’s 50th birthday.
He got into everything that went wrong at his wedding, saying his mother “canceled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour…forcing her urgently to buy a new dress.” Most dramatically, Brooklyn said his mom “hijacked my first dance with my wife.”
“In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony called me to the stage, where in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me instead. She danced very inappropriately in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”
He also cleared up the rumors surrounding David’s birthday, claiming he and Nicola did travel to London, “and were rejected for a week as we waited in our hotel room trying to plan quality time with him. He refused all of our attempts, unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner.” Later, when his family traveled to L.A., they refused to see him at all.
Brooklyn closed out his missive by clarifying rumors that Peltz has been controlling him, calling that narrative “completely backwards.”
“I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety.” He said that after stepping away from his family, “that anxiety has disappeared.” He noted that all he and his wife want now is “peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.”
David Beckham responds to his son's claims…sort of
While the soccer superstar hasn’t formally addressed Brooklyn’s allegations, he seemed to allude to them during a Jan. 20 appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box. Beckham was talking about the power of social media, “for the good and the bad,” and said that he’s tried to educate his children on how to use it for good. "They make mistakes, but children are allowed to make mistakes,” he said. “That is how they learn. That is what I try to teach my kids. You sometimes have to let them make those mistakes as well."
Now, he could simply be talking about giving his children room to mess up on social media. But given that this whole family feud has now spilled out into the public view because of a few social media posts, many are seeing it as a veiled response.
