“Children Make Mistakes”: David Beckham Speaks Out After Brooklyn Beckham Accuses Parents of Controlling Narratives and Sabotaging His Marriage

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The Beckham family is yet again at the centre of a controversy as David Beckham’s eldest son, Brooklyn Beckham, accused his father, David, and mother, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, of “sabotaging” his marriage to actress and model Nicola Peltz Beckham. The allegations were addressed for the first time by the England football legend on Tuesday, 20 January 2026.

Beckham referred to the controversy as “children make mistakes” while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on the topic of the misuse of social media. The former England football captain said in an interview with CNBC, which was part of the event, “They make mistakes. Children are allowed to make mistakes — that is how they learn. That’s what I try to teach my kids. But sometimes you also have to let them make those mistakes.”

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This came as a reaction to a lengthy six-page statement posted on Instagram by Brooklyn, in which he publicly addressed months of speculation regarding a rift within the Beckham family that had been spiralling online. He accused his family of spreading “countless lies” and trying “endlessly to ruin” his relationship with his wife, Nicola. He further added that he was “standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”

He further alleged that his parents focused more on their public image than on family bonding, claiming that their actions were part of a long-standing pattern of “controlled narratives” designed to showcase “performative social media posts”. He also said that his upbringing was marked by “inauthentic relationships,” writing about staged family events. The post stated, “For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family.”

Brooklyn went on to say that he has no intention of reconciling with his family under the current circumstances. He also claimed that his parents tried to force him into “signing away the rights” to his name before his wedding in April 2022. The model further raised allegations specifically related to his wedding, stating that his mother Victoria had “cancelled making Nicola’s dress” at the “eleventh hour,” which was followed by “hijacking” the couple’s first dance. He described the incident as having left him feeling “uncomfortable” and “humiliated.”

There were also accusations of repeatedly sabotaging the couple’s attempts to spend “quality time” together, along with claims that his wife was being “consistently disrespected” by his family, as per Brooklyn’s Instagram Stories. Brooklyn further claimed that his mother attempted to make both him and Nicola uncomfortable by deliberately inviting women from his past into family gatherings.

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Brooklyn also claimed that he was called “evil” by his mother over seating arrangements at his wedding after he included elderly relatives at the couple’s table. He further alleged that members of his family told him that Nicola was “not blood” and “not family” on the eve of his wedding.

Brooklyn Beckham is married to model Nicola Peltz, the daughter of American billionaire investor Nelson Peltz and former model Claudia Heffner Peltz. She has appeared in the film Transformers: Age of Extinction and the television series Bates Motel. The couple married in a high-profile ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2022, which was attended by both families.

The family drama came to public attention last year when netizens noticed the absence of Brooklyn and Nicola from David Beckham’s 50th birthday celebration. The couple was reportedly invited to the party; however, Brooklyn later claimed they were staying at their London hotel, hoping to meet his father privately. He said they were later told that David would only meet them at the party on the condition that Nicola did not attend.

There has been no direct response to these allegations from either David or Victoria Beckham. The only public address to the ongoing controversy came from David’s remarks in Davos.

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