After spending weeks Stateside following the World Cup, summer continues in true lavishness for the Beckham family. One minute they were watching Spain triumph against Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the next they’re photographed living the life of luxury in Ibiza aboard their yacht. Alright for some, isn’t it?
But even the highest extremes of fame and fortune do not make you immune to family drama, a harsh realisation that David, 51, and Victoria, 52, have been slapped around the face by this year. Since eldest son Brooklyn, 27, publicly severed ties with his parents in a scathing Instagram statement back in January, the feuding family have come geographically close to a run-in on several occasions. Back in June, footballing ace David was joined by Victoria and their three other children, Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, and Harper, 15, as he received a coveted star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame. Notably missing were LA-based Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz, 31, whose home Harper was later photographed arriving at in an apparent bid to reconnect with her estranged brother and sister-in-law. It then emerged that they were in New York – where they are believed to have watched some of the World Cup games instead of joining Brooklyn’s relatives in the stands.
The latest near-miss, however, is one that is sure to cut a family-proud David and Victoria particularly deeply. As they were spotted on their yacht in St Tropez (like we said, alright for some), Brooklyn and Nicola were photographed just 75 miles away spending time with the aspiring chef’s godfather Elton John and his husband David Furnish aboard their plush boat in Nice. The couple have been longtime friends of the Beckhams, having regularly holidayed together and publicly celebrated each other’s milestones.
Megastar Elton, 79, is widely regarded as a peacemaker to the stars, and according to reports, he continues to play Switzerland in the Beckhams’ drama – despite spending notably more time with Brooklyn and actress Nicola of late. Last summer, Elton hosted his godson and his wife at a beach club in Cannes, as well as being spotted having a deep conversation with the couple at his Oscars viewing party in March.
So while they may be near in miles, the family also couldn’t be further apart as a source recently confirmed.
‘Nothing has changed. That is to say, neither party has reached out to the other. It’s devastating and, of course, David and Victoria would love nothing more than for their eldest boy to be with them on holiday.
‘Instead, Brooklyn is living it up in the South of France with Elton, who has previously tried playing peacemaker – albeit to no avail. Elton loves Brooklyn dearly and understands better than anyone the pressures of fame and families falling out.’
The source added that the Your Song singer has tried to speak to both sides, but ‘respects Brooklyn’s wish for silence’.
The plot thickened shortly after Brooklyn and Nicola were spotted with Elton – who is also Romeo’s godfather – and husband David, 63. The young couple opted to venture onto land for something to eat in St Tropez at the same time as Brooklyn’s parents, with reports claiming that photographers captured the respective pairs just minutes apart visiting locations that were just five minutes’ walking distance from one another.
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A source previously claimed to Closer that David was furious with his wife of 27 years, as she was allegedly behind Elton’s latest peacemaking ploy.
We were told, ‘Victoria – unbeknownst to David – had been trying to rope in Elton to meet with Brooklyn and try to talk some sense into him. She was orchestrating this plan and David found out.
‘He’s absolutely livid with her for meddling and stirring the pot, especially while they’re supposed to be unwinding. He also feels like Elton’s involvement would only complicate things and thinks Victoria poking the bear is a massive mistake.’
Rumours of family tension originally gathered pace after Brooklyn and Nicola tied the knot in April 2022. While the rumours eventually simmered down – with Nicola seemingly lapping up time with her in-laws – speculation of tension ramped up again in 2025 on the heels of reports that Brooklyn and Romeo had fallen out over the latter’s relationship with Kim Turnbull. (It was reported that Brooklyn and Kim had previously dated, although Cruz rubbished the rumour on social media.)
Brooklyn and Nicola quickly became no-shows at major Beckham milestones including David’s 50th, and the Beckhams were not invited to the Peltz-Beckhams’ vow renewal last August. Come December, Cruz quashed hearsay that David and Victoria had unfollowed Brooklyn on social media, insisting ‘My mum and dad would never unfollow their son.. Let’s get the facts right. They woke up blocked… as did I.’
Just a month later, Brooklyn sent the internet into meltdown with his infamous six-page statement, in which he made a string of damning bombshells about his family and insisted he did not want to reconcile with them. He accused his parents of prioritising ‘Brand Beckham’ and consistently disrespecting Nicola, as well as sensationally claiming that Victoria hijacked the first dance at his wedding – and danced ‘inappropriately’ on him. Brooklyn also alleged that David and Victoria ‘repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name’ before the wedding. He later stated, ‘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.’
While David and Victoria did not provide a counter statement, the former Spice Girl said in April, ‘We’ve always tried to be the best parents that we can be. And you know, we’ve been in the public eye for more than 30 years right now, and all we’ve ever tried to do is protect our children and love our children. And you know, that’s all I really want to say about it.’
And after being asked his thoughts on the ‘vicious’ coverage on his household’s ‘strife’ and the toll it has taken on those close to him, David replied, ‘To be honest, I’m sorry to stop you there, but that’s a private matter. That’s the one thing that I don’t want to talk about.’