When Brooklyn Beckham was a little boy, he and his grandmothers were almost inseparable. In fact, the young Brooklyn saw about as much of Jackie Adams and Sandra Beckham as he did of his parents.
Only in their early twenties when their beloved firstborn arrived, David and Victoria were both working tirelessly to build the stellar careers that were to give their brood such a great start in life. They were naturally thrilled to have two doting grannies to take up the slack.
Indeed, when Victoria gave birth to their second son, Romeo, in September 2002, her mum Jackie was so hands-on with Brooklyn that they effectively lived together.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that this week, following his decision to block David and Victoria on Instagram, Brooklyn is publicly insisting that his love for all four grandparents – Jackie and Tony Adams and Sandra and Ted Beckham – is as strong as ever.
Eager to scotch claims that he has cut, not only his parents but also his grandparents out of his life, he briefed a newspaper that he still adores them.
A friend of the 26-year-old chef and influencer explained: ‘While things between him and his parents are over, Brooklyn is still very fond of his grandparents. There is a lot of love for them, and that has never faltered.’
Sandra Beckham with Brooklyn wathing his father at the 2008 World Cup
Victoria’s parents Tony and Jacki with Brooklyn in 2005
Far from putting rumours to bed, however, his protestations have left some bemused to say the least.
The truth is that Jackie, 74, and Sandra, 77, were not told about Brooklyn and wife Nicola Peltz’s plan to renew their wedding vows last August, just three years after tying the knot in a £3million ceremony at her father’s £76million Florida estate in May 2022.
Indeed none of Brooklyn’s family got advance warning of the couple’s second big day, let alone an invitation to the event, which was held at the Peltzes’ other sprawling property in Westchester, just outside of New York.
When Nicola posted 48 photos of the party nine days after the party, none of them featured any friends Brooklyn had before he met Nicola in 2019.
To add salt to the wound, one of the photographs the pair posted on social media confirmed that Nicola’s father Nelson officiated at the ceremony.
‘The first Brooklyn’s grandparents knew of him and Nicola renewing their wedding vows was when they saw pictures they had shared of it online,’ says a well-placed source.
‘He was raised by his grandparents, Jackie and Sandra, when he was little and his parents were working. He adores them, but he didn’t even tell them about this.
‘Imagine being an old lady missing her grandson and seeing all of this on the internet. It must have been absolutely heartbreaking for them.’
Brooklyn celebrated Christmas with wife Nicola and her parents
Victoria shared this image of David and their other two sons
Friends of the Beckhams say that David and Victoria have now accepted their eldest son’s decision to remove himself from their family as Brooklyn and Nicola, 30, build a life in Los Angeles.
But they are sad for their own parents. ‘Nobody is getting any younger,’ says one pal. ‘Who knows when they will see their eldest grandson again.’
As well as the vow renewal, Jackie and Tony Adams and Sandra and Ted Beckham also missed out on several opportunities to see Brooklyn last spring, after he snubbed David’s 50th birthday celebrations, which included a dinner at Core restaurant in Notting Hill, west London, and a big family party at the Beckhams’s Cotswolds home.
To make matters worse, just weeks later, Brooklyn and Nicola returned to London for a photoshoot for a campaign with French clothing firm Moncler but failed to tell any of his family, even his once-beloved little sister Harper, 14.
And in November, Brooklyn was notably absent when David was awarded his long-awaited knighthood at Windsor Castle. In fact, he didn’t even congratulate his dad, either on social media or privately.
While it isn’t known whether the photographer-turned-chef has much contact privately with his parents, what is incontrovertible is that he didn’t return to the UK to see them over the Christmas period.
This, despite Jackie hanging a Christmas stocking for him from the mantlepiece of the fireplace at her Hertfordshire home, alongside stockings for her other 11 grandchildren. Friends say that Brooklyn historically ‘loved a good old Beckham Christmas knees-up’ but no more, it seems.
Meanwhile, in early December, Sandra attempted to begin a conversation with Brooklyn after he posted a festive video of himself wrapping up a bottle of his hot sauce, Cloud 23 (23 being his father’s shirt number at Real Madrid and LA Galaxy).
In what amounted to a hint that she was hoping to see her grandson over Christmas and put the months of fall-out and upset behind them, she posted in the comments section: ‘That for me?’, followed by a series of sweet emojis.
But it cut little ice in America. Nicola made it very clear that she only has time for her own family these days – both with her New Year’s Eve celebrations and a party to celebrate turning 31 this week.
Nicola was pictured sharing a sweet hug with her father Nelson as she looked stylish in a pink top and jeans. She also shared snaps of pink and white balloons decorating the house and her holding hands with Brooklyn as she cut her birthday cake.
Sharing photographs of her NYE celebrations, she wrote: ‘So grateful to start the New Year with these beautiful humans’ – tagging Brooklyn, her brothers Bradley and Zach and Zach’s girlfriend Aislinn Carne.
A group of her friends – Quincy Jones’ daughter Kenya Jones, Canadian photographer Alison Albright and hairstylist Lovette Candice – were also pictured in the group.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, is no longer in contact with his brothers Romeo or Cruz.
