Nicola Peltz has made her feelings clear on the drama between her husband and his family – and experts suggest there’s a reason she’s so defensive over claims she’s to blame for the fallout
07:00, 31 Jan 2026Updated 11:28, 31 Jan 2026
Nicola Peltz comes from a well-established family(Image: INSTAGRAM)
After Brooklyn Beckham took aim at his family last week, the Beckham camp hit back by blaming Nicola. Said to call him the ‘hostage’, Victoria and David Beckham are said to be deeply concerned about his wife’s apparent influence, with sources claiming they fear he is being controlled.
The Peltz-Beckham’s and the Beckham family have been at loggerheads since Brooklyn and Nicola tied the knot in 2022 and it appears there’s no way back for Brooklyn and Nicola with the Beckhams.
It’s clear the Peltz family are an iron-clad bunch who are not afraid to threaten and take legal action when they deem it necessary. Indeed, Brooklyn recently issued his own parents with a legal notice, banning them from communicating with him outside of their lawyers. And he has made it clear where his allegiance lies, repeatedly uploading gushing posts about ‘choosing’ Nicola every time.
Tensions reached new highs when the couple failed to attend David Beckham’s swanky 50th birthday celebrations, leaving the former Manchester United legend “hurt” by their no-show. Sources claimed that while Brooklyn had been set on attending the celebrations, having told his parents weeks before, Nicola is believed to “finds a way to start an argument” and pushes her husband to not speak to his family.
They also skipped Victoria’s birthday festivities, and he failed to deliver any Mother’s Day messages online in March. Speculation suggests the tension might stem from Nicola’s dynamics with the Beckham family, yet Brooklyn hasn’t taken to his own social platforms to highlight his father’s significant birthday either.
For the billionaire heiress’ part, she has defended herself through the language of social media likes, giving a thumbs up to one comment that read: “The fact people are in this comment section talking bs about someone controlling a GROWN man is absurd. The guy is an adult and can make his own decisions, leave them be and stop blaming women for everything.”
But it’s not the first time Nicola has been accused of pushing partners away from their families. Before Brooklyn, Nicola dated Anwar Hadid, and his family have spoken out, saying what’s happening with Brooklyn is ‘history repeating itself’. Nicola also placed Anwar firmly in the folds of her tight-knit family, as he was pictured on the red carpet of awards ceremonies with her and brother Will.
There were rumours at the time that Anwar had grown distant from his famous family and a tweet claimed: “Brooklyn Beckham’s wife previously dated Anwar Hadid, and he also stopped talking to his parents. Yolanda [Anwar’s mum] snapped back: “Not on my watch.'”
READ MORE: Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola laugh off haters after enjoying £80,000 bottle of wine
Nicola and Brooklyn have ignored comments calling them ‘ungrateful'(Image: INSTAGRAM)
When Brooklyn and Nicola tied the knot, the day didn’t come without it’s drama – which has now completely broken ties between the couple and the Beckham’s. In a seething six-page statement, posted on Instagram, Brooklyn, 26, accused his mother, Victoria, 51, of trying to sabotage his relationship with the actress and model, 31, who left her wedding ‘in tears’ after the Spice Girl’s ‘inappropriate’ dance with her new husband.
Rumours swirled that Nicola was behind the statement that teared into the Beckhams, and while it can’t be proved, experts have noted how the statement appeared “polished” and the “tone does feel coached rather than chaotic, which is usually a sign of support rather than manipulation.”
The young couple are yet to comment on Brooklyn’s blistering attack, but they don’t seem to be letting the haters comments get to them after Victoria’s fans accused the amateur chef and billionaire heiress of being ‘horribly ungrateful’.
While she may be married to Brooklyn, Nicola has managed to make a name for herself outside of her family connections. Starring in films such as Deck The Halls, Transformers and The Last Airbender, as well as walking the runway for Balenciaga in 2015. She gushed over her dad Nelson as her inspiration for her committed work ethic.
She told Tatler: “My dad always says, ‘I don’t care what you do in life, as long as you are fully committed and you work’,” and also shared Nelson’s mantra: “Someone will always be prettier, more talented – you always find competition in that area – but no one should be a harder worker than you.”
From this, it’s no surprise she’s refused to back down from claims she’s the one to blame for the Beckham family rift. With a father like Nelson, it shows exactly why Nicola is so headstrong. The Peltz’s boast a net worth of a staggering $1.6 billion after after Nelsons’ string of successful businesses, investments and entrepreneurial decisions.
But over the years, Mr Peltz has been branded a “bully”, not stopping until he gets exactly what he wants, something it appears Nicola has learnt from him. According to Daily Mail, Peltz created a firm called Trian in 2005, where he waged campaigns to get on the boards of companies like Heinz, Procter & Gamble and Unilever, with target companies often depicting him as short-term focused.
Nicola’s father Nelson Peltz has been called a ‘bully’ in the past(Image: nicolaannepeltzbeckham/Instagram)
In 2024, Disney released a three-minute takedown video to try and stop him from joining its board of directors, calling him ‘disruptive and destructive’. They created the political-style video trashing the activist shareholder’s motivations and qualifications after Nelson and his Trian Fund launched a campaign to win two board seats.
The company said Nelson has a long history of ‘attacking companies to the ultimate detriment’ of shareholders and said it would be ‘disruptive’ and ‘value-destructive’ to include him. Nelson argued in his own presentation that Disney was slow to adapt to industry changes, including in streaming, made errors in its acquisition strategy and bungled its succession planning.
While he has built a fearsome reputation in the financial world, Nelson has proven he isn’t afraid to go to war for his children either, sensationally suing Nicola’s ex-wedding planners Plan Design Event, alleging they failed to deliver on their obligations and refused to refund a $159,000 deposit after he fired them during the lead-up to the lavish $3.5million wedding, held at his huge estate in Florida.
Nicola previously revealed that Brooklyn also relies on his new father-in-law for business advice. She gushed: “Brooklyn is getting into very exciting things with his shows and also business things and it’s really sweet. I watch him call my dad and say, ‘What do you think about this?’ I love watching him learn from my dad.”
It’s a far cry from how she feels about her relationship with her in-laws, as it was recently revealed Nicola struggled to call her husband’s parents by their names after their toxic family feud. It has been claimed that Nicola, whilst doing an interview back in 2022, struggled to use Victoria and David Beckham’s names.
Journalist Polly Barton sat down to talk about the actress’s marriage just six months after she tied the knot in 2022 and said: “I was struck by Nicola’s borderline inability to speak either David or Victoria’s names. The ‘she, Victoria, uh’ in the above quote, was as direct as it got, otherwise, it was just ‘Brooklyn’s mom’ or ‘dad.'”
Experts claim that Brooklyn’s attraction to a strong partner mirrors his upbringing. Psychotherapist Noel McDermott explained: “Brooklyn’s mother is a powerful successful woman and it’s hardly a surprise he was attracted to a powerful successful woman as his wife. It’s also hardly a surprise that these two powerful women would both have a falling out.”
The couple have come from similar upbringings, as Noel pointed out, is the shared experience of being raised within tightly controlled environments. “The world that the Beckhams and Peltz’s come from are defined by being very protected and also being used to getting your own way. Both children would have been closely controlled the whole of their lives by their parents.”
Brooklyn frequently shares moments spent with Nicola’s family online
Some sources have called Nicola “childlike” in the past. Brooklyn always calls Nicola ‘baby’ or ‘babygirl’, while her 31st birthday party in January was ballerina themed with a doll in a tutu on top of her cake. One source told the Daily Mail: “Nicola is someone who has grown up with so much wealth and power. If you have grown up like that, your whole view of life and other people is so warped. Everyone is your plaything and if something or someone displeases you, it’s got rid of.”
The 31-year-old has certainly adopted traits such as her determination from her successful father, and psychologist Dr Goddard-Crawley told Daily Mirror that messages about work, success and commitment are passed down very strongly in families. She said: “Growing up with a parent who emphasises effort, competitiveness or achievement can foster a strong sense of drive, confidence and self-belief.
“For some people, this can look like being headstrong or determined. For others, it can feel like a need to be right or to stay in control. The same early messages can be experienced very differently depending on temperament and context. A strong or demanding upbringing can produce resilience and ambition, but it can also make someone very protective of their own boundaries and independence.”
So when it comes to distancing from in-laws or another powerful family, the expert said there can be “many explanations that have nothing to do with threat or competition” and added: “These situations are usually about navigating identity, loyalty and belonging rather than one person ‘winning’ or ‘losing’. Joining a very high-profile family can bring its own pressures, and pulling back can sometimes be a way of protecting a sense of self rather than rejecting others.”
For her upbringing, Dr Goddard-Crawley noted how looking at how early values around work, success and strength may shape someone’s confidence and boundaries in adult relationships. “This means it’s often less about conflict with others and more about how someone has learned to assert themselves and feel secure in close relationships.”
While Brooklyn continues to play happy families with the Peltz family, sources close to David and Victoria Beckham say they found him “foul” on the wedding day. They claim Nelson had an ‘outburst’ at a guest who used a toilet inside his Florida mansion instead of one of the portable toilets set up on the grounds. A source at the time told the Daily Mail: “The whole Beckham family found Nelson utterly foul at the wedding. They didn’t particularly like him before but they really didn’t afterwards.
“They were kind of in their corner having a lovely time and trying to enjoy their son’s big day but there was certainly an atmosphere. Brooklyn is obviously aware of the strained relations between his parents and Nelson. He knows they don’t like him very much. It all feels like Brooklyn and Nicola are rubbing David and Victoria’s faces in all of this.”