Pouting and almost naked, Nicola Peltz poses alongside her mother Claudia shortly after she renewed her wedding vows. They both look delighted, as if they are having the best day of their lives.
And why not? Those who know the Beckhams say it is this picture that seals their triumph. They have well and truly taken over Nicola’s husband Brooklyn, now Brooklyn Peltz Beckham.
The vow renewal ceremony – to which the Beckhams were not invited – has made his heartbreaking fall out with his family complete.
This particular snap was taken while the bride was changing out of the vintage wedding dress lent to her by her mother – the then Claudia Heffner wore it when she married billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz in 1985 – into a blue butterfly number for the after party.
It is just one of very many she and Brooklyn, 26, have shared since their second big day on August 2. The ceremony, officiated by Nicola’s 83-year-old father Nelson (of course) was held at the Peltz’s estate in Westchester County, just outside of New York.
To date Nicola, 30, has posted 48 photos on Instagram showing the happy couple and their friends enjoying the party. Of course, Brooklyn’s own family as absent. Victoria, 51, David,50, son Cruz, 20 and his girlfriend Jackie Apostel, 29, have been holidaying on board their £16m yacht off the coast of Italy.
The shock at seeing the ‘wedding’ picture pop up on Instagram must have hit them like a tidal wave. Though many have speculated that the Beckhams will be furious at being left out, I can reveal that the overriding feeling in Team Beckham is more a mixture of sadness and concern.
This latest show of indifference to their feelings from their eldest son has left David and Victoria ‘deeply worried’ for Brooklyn, who is now estranged not just from his family but from his maternal and paternal grandparents and extended family too.
An almost-naked Nicola posing with her mother Claudia shortly after she renewed her wedding vows
Brooklyn and Nicola’s vow renewal ceremony – to which the Beckhams were not invited – has made Brooklyn’s heartbreaking fall out with his family complete
Though many have speculated that the Beckhams will be furious at being left out, I can reveal that the overriding feeling in Team Beckham is more a mixture of sadness and concern, writes Katie Hind
‘It’s inexcusably cruel and heartless, but this isn’t Brooklyn’s doing,’ says one source.
Nicola and Brooklyn have become increasingly distant from the Beckham family ever since the couple’s actual wedding, held at the Peltz’s £76million mansion in Palm Beach, Florida on April 9th, 2022. Nicola and Victoria are said to have fallen out when Nicola snubbed Victoria’s fashion brand and chose to wear a wedding dress by a rival designer, Valentino.
Contact between them dwindled, then very publicly stopped altogether when Brooklyn and Nicola failed to attend any of David’s five 50th birthday celebrations in May this year.
They missed a pre-birthday bash at Cipriani restaurant in Miami where the likes of Lionel Messi and Cindy Crawford were on the guest list. And even though they were in London at the time, failed to turn up at a big family party at the Beckhams’ Cotswolds home.
They shunned an idyllic day-trip to a vineyard in Bordeaux followed by dinner in Paris, then a final dinner at Core, a restaurant in Notting Hill, West London, where guests included Guy Ritchie, Gordon Ramsay and Tom Cruise.
Brooklyn also missed a ‘boys fishing trip’ to the Scottish Highlands with David and his younger brothers Romeo and Cruz. Apart from a birthday message to his sister Harper when she turned 14 last month, he and Nicola appear to have cut off contact with the whole Beckham family.
So, friends are deeply concerned about the impact this latest volley from the couple will have on Brooklyn’s parents and grandparents.
‘Why would they want to do this? It is just so hurtful,’ says one friend. ‘A point has now been reached where it’s actually no longer about a feud. There is much confusion, fear, worry and utter, utter devastation that this happened without Brooklyn telling any of his family.
This latest show of indifference has left David and Victoria ‘deeply worried’ for Brooklyn, who is now estranged not just from his family but from his maternal and paternal grandparents and extended family too
David and Victoria on their yacht in Tuscany. The families are said to have fallen out when Nicola snubbed Victoria’s fashion brand for her main wedding and chose to wear a dress by a rival designer, Valentino
David, Victoria and their three other children found out about the vow renewal when they read it in American celebrity weekly People
‘It isn’t just about David and Victoria anymore. They are heartbroken they don’t see their son, but what about the grandparents? Brooklyn has always been so close to them. We are talking about a boy who was raised by his grandmothers Jackie Adams and Sandra Beckham when he was little and his parents were working.
‘He adores them, but he didn’t even tell them about this. Imagine being an grandmother missing her grandson and seeing all of this on the internet. And that is the most worrying thing – it’s like Brooklyn isn’t Brooklyn anymore. This isn’t the kind, lovely young man who loved his family. He would never have done anything to hurt them before he was with Nicola. That’s a fact.
‘Far from fuelling a feud, it is just very, very worrying for everyone who loves him. They are worried about what is going on over there in the States.’
David, Victoria and their three other children found out about the vow renewal by reading it in American celebrity weekly People (coincidentally also Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s preferred publication) ten days ago. The barrage of photographs that have followed in the last 36 months – showing that this was a major event – came as a complete surprise.
Sources tell me the family are describing the photo dump as an ‘onslaught’ and there is a widespread belief that Nicola is enjoying the chance to rub her in-laws’s noses in the fact that Brooklyn is with her, not them – and that they are no longer part of his life.
The renewal of vows is understood to have been organised by Nicola and her mother Claudia, 70. Some see it as an opportunity to raise their profile – while sticking two fingers up to the Beckhams. Nicola choosing to wear her mother’s wedding dress can easily be seen as another dig at Victoria.
‘You can’t help but believe that this has all been orchestrated by Nicola and her mother,’ another insider tells me. ‘It’s Claudia recreating her own wedding to Nelson all of these years later – only at least Nicola’s groom is young and attractive.
‘But while Nicola and Claudia are busily using an occasion like this for their own gain or as a PR opportunity, they need to be mindful that at the centre of all of this is a pawn named Brooklyn and his family are very, very concerned for him. It’s like he has been brainwashed, been taken in and told that he can’t see his own family.’
Brooklyn also missed a ‘boys fishing trip’ to the Scottish Highlands with David and his younger brothers Romeo and Cruz
All the Beckhams want is to their firstborn back in the fold – something they seem to have accepted won’t be happening any time soon
They believe that Nicola has Brooklyn under her control. Some have even started to refer to David and Victoria’s eldest son as the ‘hostage’
It has also been noted by those who love Brooklyn that the wedding photographs don’t feature anyone Brooklyn knew before he met Nicola back in October 2019, at a Halloween party in Los Angeles.
Instead of being supported by his parents and siblings, Romeo, 22, Cruz and Harper, Brooklyn was surrounded by Nicola’s brothers, Matthew, 42, Will, 39, Brad, 36, twins Zach and Gregory, 22, and sister Brittany, 34.
The guests included Harvey Weinstein’s ex-wife Georgina Chapman, her Oscar-winning actor partner Adrien Brody and actor Oliver Trevena.
Other guests included Zach’s girlfriend Aislinn Carnes, Nicola’s sister-in-law Brittany Peltz Buerstedde, businessman Jeremy Clerc, acting coach Nancy Banks, real estate agents Nicole Reber and Anthony Barillo, hairstylist Candice Lovette and Nicola’s make-up artist Liv Madorma.
Creative branding agency owner Dominic J West was also in attendance as well as make-up artist Georgi Sandev and ‘colourist to the stars’ Daniel Moon.
‘There weren’t any of Brooklyn’s friends from his younger days there,’ says another pal. ‘So many people have been left aghast by all of this.’
Others noted that Brooklyn isn’t even in a lot of the pictures. ‘It’s like a total takeover, the poor man isn’t even in half of them,’ mused one friend.
In May I revealed that Brooklyn no longer has any contact with old friends including Jack Ramsay – Gordon Ramsay’s son. The Beckhams and the Ramsays are long-standing friends and the boys were once inseparable. He no longer speaks to Rocco Ritchie, Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s son, with whom he attended the Fine Arts college in Belsize Park, North London.
Brooklyn doesn’t speak to any of his cousins, including Liberty, the eldest daughter of Victoria’s sister Louise. The pair were born within months of one another and for many years were more like siblings than cousins.
‘Everyone is being punished by Nicola here,’ says a friend. ‘It’s incomprehensible. David and Victoria have been dealing with this on and off since the wedding in 2022, but this is new to the others and it is heartbreaking.’
Apart from the Instagram captions Nicola has written alongside her six posts about the big day, Nicola has yet to discuss the her vow renewal ceremony.
Instead, it was decided that Brooklyn would be sent out to speak to the media. He told People magazine last week that the renewal had been a ‘beautiful’ experience, and called the ceremony a ‘really cute memory.’
He added: ‘To be honest, I could renew my vows every single day with her.
‘I think the most important thing that someone can do is find that person that they’re going to spend the rest of their life with. It definitely shapes you as a person. Yeah, it was really, really cute. It was really fun.’
Some close to the Beckhams feel the event was contrived from start to finish by Nicola and Claudia, including Brooklyn being set up as the spokesman. Others can barely believe they are his own words.
The Beckhams believe that Nicola has Brooklyn under her control. Some have even started to refer to David and Victoria’s eldest son as the ‘hostage’.
Brooklyn hasn’t uttered a word to any of his family since the beginning of May apart from that birthday text message to Harper and another to one of his grandmothers – David’s mum Sandra. Brooklyn also publicly wished them a happy birthday on Instagram – something he signally failed to do on his father’s 50th. There were no good wishes in June for David when he was given his knighthood, either.
Some friends of the Beckhams refuse to use the word ‘feud’, insisting that implies a two-way fall out. They may despise Nicola now (though Nicola insists Brooklyn makes his own decisions), but all they want is their firstborn back in the fold – something they seem to have accepted won’t be happening any time soon.
In fact, I’m told, they know deep down it won’t happen while Nicola is in his life.
‘God only knows what Nicola will do with Brooklyn when the attention stops,’ said a friend. ‘All David, Victoria and in fact their entire family hope for is that Brooklyn comes back to them at some point.
‘And if he does, he will be welcomed with open arms. They just all hope he knows how much he is loved.’
