Therapists give their expert verdict on Brooklyn Beckham’s bombshell Instagram post disowning his family: 'This is an all out assault… there is no kindness for his parents or siblings’
Families feud, it’s a fact of life: But not everyone disowns their parents with a scathing open letter read by millions of people across the world.Last night, Brooklyn Beckham, the eldest son of footballer David and former Spice Girl Victoria, revealed that he did not want to reconcile with his family following years of estrangement. The 26-year-old posted a six-slide Instagram story which confirmed that there is a catastrophic rift between him and his famous parents, and went as far as to accuse his mother of embarrassing him at his 2022 wedding to American heiress Nicola Peltz, 31. The pair wed in a lavish ceremony which was estimated to have cost $3million – but according to Brooklyn, the event was ruined by his mother.He accused Victoria, who has her own fashion brand, of cancelling making Nicola’s wedding dress at the 'eleventh hour’ and of hijacking their first dance which left him so ’embarrassed’ they decided to renew their vows without his family last year. Brooklyn went on to say he has been 'controlled by a family that values public promotion above all else’ and that since being with Nicola, he has found 'peace and relief’ after battling crippling anxiety.He also confirmed previous rumours that fractures within the family began during their wedding in April 2022 as he claimed his mother Victoria, 51, and dad David 'endlessly tried’ to ruin their relationship.Psychologist Dr Patricia Britto told the Daily Mail that in her opinion, the wedding marks the epicentre of Brooklyn’s rage – and it’s not unusual for families who have had a strong influence on one half of the couple to struggle to adjust to the new dynamic. Brooklyn Beckham (right) with his parents David and Victoria in 2019 'In attachment terms, marriage often consolidates a new primary bond: a spouse can become the central attachment figure, and the couple becomes a new „secure base”,’ she said. 'That shift can trigger anxiety in the biological family, particularly in families accustomed to high involvement or influence. 'In structural family therapy terms, the family is renegotiating boundaries: the couple subsystem is meant to become more distinct, while the family-of-origin adapts to a new role.’ Professor Dinesh Bhugra, Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, told the Daily Mail that Brooklyn changing his surname to Peltz-Beckham signalled to his family that he was moving away from them. 'At one level, you could argue that it’s about equality, and he’s doing the trendy thing, but on the other there’s a kind of clear message being sent to the family,’ he said, adding that he believes he penned the letter to 'stand up for his wife and his individuality.’Senior Therapist Sally Baker also believes that Brooklyn’s motivations for writing – and posting the painful open letter is connected to him embracing his new identity as a husband. She told the Daily Mail: 'Like a lot of celebrity nepo babies, Brooklyn has really struggled to find his place in the world. 'But now he has it. He sees himself as a husband, a protector, an advocate, a grown up – his role is to protect Nicola, to protect his family. Brooklyn married American heiress Nicola Peltz in April 2022 – his estrangement from his family began shortly afterwards’He’s been desperate for an identity, and he’s found it in his marriage to Nicola.’Ironically, Brooklyn has clearly inherited the loyalty demonstrated by his parents – but he’s now using it against them.’We asked Ms Baker to cast her expert eyes over Brooklyn’s letter in full, and decipher the true meaning behind his unprecedented tirade.I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed.Ms Baker sees this opening statement as 'a heartfelt desire to set the record straight and to step up as an adult in his own right.’ 'Brooklyn wants to be seen as an adult man in his own right, he’s shifting from child into adult, believing that he now has no choice but to speak for himself,’ she said. 'Now that he’s a married man, he feels that he has the authority and the gravitas to be taken seriously and to say his truth – he no longer has to bite his tongue.’ Interestingly, Ms Baker draws parallels with how Brooklyn and Nicola have distanced themselves from the Beckhams with how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle orchestrated their exit from the Royal family in early 2000. One of the scathing posts Brooklyn made about his family on Monday night 'His words echo the sentiments of Harry and Meghan when they believed the Royal family was briefing against them,’ she notes. 'The way he refers to his „parents and his team” implies that although he believes he’s been behaving extremely well, and under huge amounts of pressure, they have betrayed him by going to the press and briefing against him and his wife.’ Last May it was reported that the Beckhams and Waleses have become friendly, with the older couple – who live a 90 minute drive from the Peltz-Beckham home – offering both solidarity and friendship.I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, 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. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.Brooklyn isn’t the first – and won’t be the last – child of a celebrity who has admitted they felt like they were used as a pawn in the fame game. Ms Baker says that it’s not uncommon for the children of celebrities to feel 'like they have been commodified and used as part of the wider family’s image making process’. 'Lots of young people get to a point where they resent the press intrusion and can feel they have been used to prop up or expand a positive family image even when it doesn’t reflect the reality they are living through,’ she said. 'The inauthenticity gets to grate and irritate them until they feel compelled to break free.’ Victoria and Brooklyn pictured in 2013 And it looks like Brooklyn has reached this point. 'He is demonstrating a sense of entitlement and that he feels like he has been really wronged.’With this statement it is as though he is drawing a line in the sand and saying „it’s not the way I’m going to organise my relationship with my wife and her family”.’ Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.Here, the language Brooklyn uses begins to harden, notes Ms Baker, who notes his use of repetition from the previous paragraphs. 'I think he feels that he stepped into his power now and has made that shift from a boy into into manhood,’ she said. 'He’s repeating the same „I’ve been silent for years”, „I’m standing up for myself”, „I see with my own eyes…” – he’s time and time again, reiterating and underlining that he’s his own person now, and these are his judgments, like he’s ready to step up.’ She adds that at this point it becomes obvious that he is strong in his opinion that his family are at fault. 'He feels self-righteous and vindicated for his feelings against his family as if he has the moral high ground and they are in the wrong,’ she said. 'His position is very polarised and his opinions read as though he is fully committed to severing all ties with his family even to the point of causing them great distress. 'His attitude is not tempered with doubt or even kindness towards his mother and father and his siblings. 'This is an all out assault against his family of origin.’My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped. My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress. Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children.Ms Baker notes that he begins to change the narrative about the wedding – even though it contradicts the official version of events the couple shared with Vogue. 'He is publicly trying to change the narrative about Nicola’s wedding dress, supposedly the initialising event at the heart of all the family estrangement,’ she said.’His version of events is disputed by other parties who were present at the time.’ But he’s not just turning the narrative – he’s also twisting the knife. 'By him relating his version of events he knows this will cause great pain to his mother,’ Ms Baker said. Brooklyn now sees himself as a husband and protector, says our expert’Also him sharing private conversations about pressure from his parents and his rights to his name breaks the family code of secrecy that his parents have always tried to maintain to the outside world.’They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since. During the wedding planning, my mum went so far as to call me „evil” because Nicola and I chose to include my Nanny Sandra, and Nicola’s Naunni at our table, because they both didn’t have their husbands. Both of our parents had their own tables equally adjacent to ours.You don’t need to be betrothed to a millionaire to experience wedding day drama – nuptials have the potential to cause fireworks and fallouts across the board. 'They are the perfect storm for deeply buried family dynamics to surface and cause emotional distress,’ Ms Baker said. 'This statement hints that there was a level of hierarchy. 'In better, or other circumstances, the parents would have been touched that the grandmas were included and honoured, but he is implying that his parents seem to have taken umbrage at that and felt gazoonked or sidelined. 'It also implies that his mother was jealous of his paternal grandmother – her mother-in-law – being placed in a higher status position than she was.’ The night before our wedding, members of my family told me that Nicola was „not blood” and „not family.” Since the moment I started standing up for myself with my family, I’ve received endless attacks from my parents, both privately and publicly, that were sent to the press on their orders.Arguably one of the most shocking claims that Brooklyn makes is that his family were openly hostile towards his future wife just hours before they were due to say 'I do’. Ms Baker says that, if true, it would be a 'heartbreaking’ thing to hear – and undeniably damaging. 'This would be a destructive stance for any family to take on the eve of the wedding when they should be trying hard to embrace their son’s choice of life partner and welcoming her to the extended family,’ she said. 'It feels like such a cruel thing to say it’s hard to understand why that impression should ever have been given.’ Furthermore, putting anyone in this position is likely to cause serious damage to existing family dynamics. 'If family members did say this to Brooklyn on the night before his wedding it would be understandable that a schism between his family of origin and his chosen family was inevitable,’ she said. 'He was being made to choose.’Ms Baker also notes that Brooklyn repeats the phrase 'since the moment I started standing up for myself and my family’ shows that he now sees his identity as being a Peltz-Beckham. 'His priority family is him and Nicola now,’ Ms Baker said. 'And they probably were from the moment they got engaged and definitely since they got married. 'Now everyone else is secondary, including his parents, and that’s probably been very difficult for them to rebalance and recalibrate.’ Even my brothers were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere this last Summer. My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love song. 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 on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life. We wanted to renew our vows so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment.Regardless of what else happens at a wedding, the first dance between a newlywed husband and wife is usually guaranteed to leave guests misty eyed. But according to Brooklyn, theirs left his wife in floods of tears after it was hijacked by his mother who instead appeared on the dance floor ready to have a last waltz with her precious first born. Brooklyn’s revelations have caused shockwaves across the world 'The first dance is a seminal and deeply emotive moment during any wedding celebration,’ said Ms Baker. 'It would have been an impossible situation for Brooklyn to have that moment gazumped by his mother when the sole focus should have been on him and his new wife.’This was a grim, unforgivable gaff, a massive blunder on her part, and if she’s that narcissistic, then maybe all of this is deserved, and he needs to put boundaries in place.’ Furthermore, Ms Baker questions Brooklyn’s claims that his 'brothers were sent to attack me before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere’. She added: 'It wasn’t out of nowhere. He’s rewriting history throughout this.’When asked why Brooklyn might want to relive such a humiliating moment, Ms Baker suggests that he was simply unable to do anything when it happened. 'He didn’t feel that he had any power at that, in that moment of time, to interrupt his mother and say, „Actually, mum, I’m not going to dance with you. I need to find my wife, my new wife, and dance with her”. 'He felt like he had to do it, which must have been really humiliating from for him, all of this is such hurt. 'He’s carrying such open wounds here and spilling the tea for all the world.’ My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we’ve tried to come together as one. My mum has repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us both uncomfortable.But there is more venom reserved for VB, with Brooklyn then accusing her of inviting his exes to family events in, what he regards, were attempts to derail or totally destroy his relationship with his wife. 'We know some of Brooklyn’s ex-partners or old acquaintances were still welcomed by his parents or his siblings to family events,’ said Ms Baker. 'Again, greater resilience and a healthy sense of self would have made these situations easier to handle for him. 'However, Brooklyn read these situations as an assault on who he is and his life choices and felt compromised by having to socialise with women from his past. 'Was this an example of his inability to cope with challenging situations or was this unkindness orchestrated by his mum to make him feel uncomfortable? 'Only his mother would know for sure.’ Brooklyn seems to have a lot of anger for his mother Despite this, we still travelled to London for my dad’s birthday 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.Brooklyn was noticeably absent from David’s 50th birthday celebrations last May – and he claims that this was all their fault. Ms Baker notes that he comes across rather brattish here. 'Brooklyn’s tone is one of unfailingly self-righteous,’ she said. 'He really sounds committed to his belief that he is the injured party and not his parents. 'He must have known the importance of his father’s birthday and unrepentantly felt he had the moral high ground over everyone else’s feelings.’ It also raises a question if this scenario was caused by the 'rejection of his role in the family PR machine’ or if it’s him rewriting history. She added: 'It’s almost impossible with the level of public and press interest to unpick how the week of his father’s birthday in London unfolded. Family feuds are not uncommon, but they rarely spark international interest 'Tragically however it caused another rift between Brooklyn and his family for a special milestone in his father’s life.’When he finally agreed to see me, it was under the condition that Nicola wasn’t invited. It was a slap in the face. Later, when my family travelled to LA, they refused to see me at all.Brooklyn continues to share reasons for wanting to stay estranged from his family.’If this is true it is very damning of the stance his mother and father has taken against their son and his new wife,’ said Ms Baker. She added: 'When you’re saying things like „we don’t want you to bring your wife”, there is no dignity. You are just pushing his face in the mud.’My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first. Family „love” is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp, even if it’s at the expense of our professional obligations.’Love in the Beckham family sounds conditional and Brooklyn sounds like he’s run out of patience,’ said Ms Baker. 'His description of his family dynamic is harmful to how his parents would want to be seen by the public. 'It’s a massive slight against his parents to say that, and it can’t even be proven. 'He is pulling no punches and embracing causing real pain and distress.’ We’ve gone out of our way for years to show up and support at every fashion show, every party, and every press activity to show 'our perfect family.’ But the one time my wife asked for my mum’s support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused.As we near the edge of Brooklyn’s statement, Ms Baker notes that there are 'more insights and disappointments aired in public now that can’t be externally verified’. She added: 'They are aimed to cause maximum distress.’It’s sad to see the depth of pain Brooklyn must be feeling to believe it warrants the betrayal of his own family.’ The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared.I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief. My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family. 'If this is true then we should all wish him well that he’s feeling less anxious and happier in himself,’ said Ms Baker. 'It’s recognised that he’s struggled to find his own way in the world and similar to a Greek tragedy it looks as though the only way he’s achieved autonomy is by metaphorically destroying his parents.’ However, Ms Baker can’t help but ask why Brooklyn has spoken out in this way – especially when he has said he wants to move away from the media-focused lifestyle led by his family.’But when you say, my wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press or manipulation, then you don’t speak to the press,’ said Ms Baker. 'Keep your own counsel. Stay strong. Sharing this on social media surely plays into all all of this things that he decries, ie, a life shaped by image, press and manipulation. 'It’s hypocritical.’
已Opublikowany: 2026-01-20 20:10:00
źródło: www.dailymail.co.uk
