Victoria Beckham was the star of the ball this week when she unveiled her Gap collection in Manhattan, which sold out almost immediately on Friday, and was hailed as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
As always, it was a family trip, with doting husband David, son Cruz, 21, and mini-me daughter Harper, 14, in tow for a fashion launch party at private club People’s and dinner at trendy hotspots Coco Duck and Salam.
But behind her smile, Victoria is still reeling from her continued estrangement from her eldest son Brooklyn, 27, who was busy making pasta online at home in Los Angeles.
“Everything is going very well, but Brooklyn is missing,” the source said, insisting the family “never gives up hope” of being reunited with their son.
It’s been almost a year since David, 50, and Victoria, 52, had any contact with their son, and sources told Page Six that the Beckhams are shocked and “saddened” that they have been frozen out for so long.
Hopes that relations will be repaired in time for the World Cup in June, when the families will set up camp in the United States, are now fading. “Everything is locked in place,” one of the people said.
It was revealed that Brooklyn only kept in touch with her grandparents (her father’s mother, Sandra, and Victoria’s parents, Jackie and Tony) by email, and even that was infrequent.
Brooklyn made headlines in January when she publicly slammed Victoria and David, accusing her of putting the Beckham brand above her children in shocking statements on social media.
“I don’t want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled. I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life,” he wrote at the time.
His wife, Nicola Peltz-Beckham, 31, is still believed to be staunchly involved in keeping the family feud under control. “She doesn’t think his family is good for him,” a source told Us.
However, another source revealed: “Nicola wasn’t the only one…Brooklyn also edited[the statement]and owned it completely…They have no intention of getting back together anytime soon.
“There was a time last year when[David and Victoria’s]apologies were effective, but not now.”
Brooklyn has been absent from important events including her mother’s fashion show, David’s star-studded 50th birthday celebrations, and even the ex-footballer’s knighthood, making her once-very-close family conspicuous by her absence. Cruz and Romeo celebrated his mother’s 52nd birthday with a social media post earlier this month, but while his parents continue to post old photos of Brooklyn, he has remained silent.
Victoria made a pit stop on Tuesday’s “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle” to promote her Gap series, the first of a multi-season partnership, where she was asked about her “pretty challenging year.”
(Jenna Bush Hager and co-host Sheinelle Jones are firmly “team moms,” an NBC source told Page Six.)
“We always put our children first,” Victoria replied. “We have always focused on protecting our children because we love them so much…”
As Page Six previously revealed, things started to deteriorate even before Brooklyn and Nicola tied the knot in April 2022 at the Palm Beach mansion owned by their billionaire parents, Nelson and Claudia Peltz. To this day, the situation is filled with contradictory reports from both sides.
Peltz officials said Victoria, who has her own atelier, was unable to make her daughter-in-law’s wedding dress as promised and only called Claudia with the news a few months before the wedding.
This prompted Claudia to take Nicola and stylist Lesley Fremar to Rome, where Valentino’s former creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli took charge.
In a six-page critique posted to her Instagram Stories in January, Brooklyn accused her mother of quitting making the dress at the last minute, a seemingly contradictory statement in an interview with Nicola and Flemer in which she said the dress took a long time to make.
Fashion Bible notes that they traveled to Rome twice and had two fittings in the United States.
Victoria also called Fremard and said, “Maybe I should try wearing Valentino,” and ended up wearing a dress from her own collection.
A Peltz official said, “It was just a comment, but it was kind of strange.”
They also revealed how Victoria “nuzzled” Brooklyn’s neck while dancing with him at their wedding, causing Nicola to burst into tears.
Brooklyn claimed that his mother “hijacked” his first dance with his wife, and that his parents “kept trying to ruin my relationship even before the wedding.”
Things went on hiatus last year ahead of David’s series of 50th birthday celebrations, which began with a party in Miami on March 30, more than a month before his actual May 2 birthday. The special event, held at Miami’s Cipriani Downtown, was hosted by Victoria and attended by celebrities including Lionel Messi, Tom Brady and Shaquille O’Neal.
Brooklyn and Nicola did not attend, but were initially told it was for work.
But then Brooklyn was unable to join David and his sons on a boys’ fishing trip to the Scottish Highlands. A big family party in the Beckham family’s converted barn in the Cotswals. A trip to the Bordeaux vineyards followed by a night in Paris. And a luxurious dinner.
In fact, Brooklyn and Nicola were actually preparing to fly to London to attend at least some of the Beckhams’ events, but apparently they changed their minds.
A week later, on May 3, the couple flew back to their home in Los Angeles without seeing any of their family, leaving hours before Brooklyn’s childhood friends Tom Cruise, Gordon Ramsay, Eva Longoria and other A-list stars gathered for a friends and family dinner at Core Restaurant in London’s Notting Hill.
“They flew to London and there was a girl there, Kim, who Brooklyn had dated in the past,” a Peltz source told Us, citing Cruise Beckham’s on-and-off girlfriend Kim Turnbull. “And he was uncomfortable being in the same room as her…He called his father and said, ‘We’d be happy to come over to you, or we’ll make you dinner, Nanny and Papa, we just want to celebrate you.'”
“But they didn’t contact them,” the Peltz source added. “They were sitting in a hotel room before flying home. And Nicola is friendly with Brooklyn’s first girlfriend. She’s not bothered[about it].”
This was denied by Beckham officials.
In an incendiary post, Brooklyn accused her mother of “inviting women from our past into our lives.”
Last month, the Daily Mail reported that David and Brooklyn had come “tantalisingly close” to meeting twice at the five-star Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.
According to sources, Brooklyn’s freeze-out has had a huge impact on his younger siblings, who grew up admiring him.
Cruz, who previously said, “My mom and dad would never unfollow my son…I woke up and he blocked me…and so did I,” has also been trying to reach out to Brooklyn, posting a throwback photo of them and her brother Romeo, 23, this week.
David, who owns Inter Miami FC, will soon be there to greet his good friend Prince William when he travels to the World Cup this summer. Still, Brooklyn isn’t expected to join the family anytime soon.
Still, Victoria said on Wednesday’s Time 100 panel, “I learned a long time ago not to listen to the noise, not to focus on the noise. Someone always has something to say…I don’t want to know. I think that’s how I cope.”
“The situation is calm and everyone is moving on with their lives, although it’s very unfortunate that they haven’t been able to communicate with Brooklyn,” a source familiar with the situation confirmed. “David and Victoria are there to talk to Brooklyn whenever she wants.”
