The shocking role of the Peltzes in Brooklyn and Nicola’s feud with the Beckhams is revealed to KATIE HIND by insiders – and why David and Victoria have been left ‘furious’

When Brooklyn Beckham told his parents in late 2019 that he had found a new girlfriend in Nicola Peltz, they were thrilled. After all, Victoria and David are always happiest when their beloved children are content.

David and Victoria had met plenty of Brooklyn’s past girlfriends – some of whom lasted longer than others. So back then they couldn’t have known that Nicola, now 30, would go on to become Brooklyn’s wife and their daughter-in-law.

And surely the famously close Beckham family could never have anticipated Nicola’s reported role in the sensational row that came to a climax last week, with Brooklyn and his wife refusing to attend David’s various 50th birthday celebrations.

However, back in those early days, what did quickly become apparent to Victoria and David about Nicola was that her parents, Nelson and Claudia, had more money than even Victoria and David – with £380million to their name – could imagine. The Beckhams were rather impressed – and keen to meet the Peltzes.

So, in January 2021, when lockdown laws were lifted, the Beckham gang jumped on a private jet to Florida where they joined the Peltzes at their £76million mansion in Palm Beach. At the time, insiders told me that the trip was a source of great excitement. Family is at the heart of Victoria and David’s lives, and having good relations with in-laws was important to them.

Their meeting went well. So well that three months later at Easter, Nicola and her mother Claudia, 70, sent Victoria an extravagant Easter hamper containing £500-worth of gifts.

Inside was a Chanel hand cream, a Dior mascara and even a priming moisturiser from Victoria’s own beauty brand. The presents didn’t stop there. There were Apple AirPods and chocolate galore – all of which came delivered with a handwritten note.

Victoria naturally showed off her haul on her Instagram page, telling her followers: ‘Okay, so I have just received the most amazing Easter basket from the Peltzes – check out what is in this amazing Easter basket.’

For the Beckhams, though, this must feel like a lifetime ago. I can reveal that relations between the two families dramatically soured a year later as the run-up to Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding became increasingly stressful.

‘You only have to look at how happy Victoria was at her Easter gift to see that she liked the Peltzes, but then things changed. It turned out in the end that Nelson and Claudia were actually very different to the Beckhams,’ an insider tells me.

‘Of course, they are both extremely rich. But there were some behaviours that the Beckhams didn’t like. The wedding was key. At times it felt like they took over everything and it was upsetting for David and Victoria.

‘The wedding was at Nelson’s house, which meant he had the upper hand. It was all terribly sad.

‘But then Nelson sued the wedding planners. Who does that when they are worth an absolute fortune? It’s very unlikely that the Beckhams would do something like that.’

Many will remember that Nelson – a friend of US President Donald Trump – took legal action against wedding planners Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba over the $150,000 (£113,000) deposit he paid for the wedding, claiming that they failed to meet expectations. The case was settled, with the planners making a donation to a charity in the name of Nicola and Brooklyn.

Since the lavish nuptials, which were estimated to have cost around £3million, the Peltzes and the Beckhams have never been seen together again.

Unfortunately for Victoria and David, Brooklyn and Nicola – who snubbed all of David’s 50th birthday celebrations last week – are now much closer to the Peltz side of the family. For starters, they live closer to one another – the Peltzes live in Florida and Brooklyn and Nicola in Los Angeles, while the Beckhams remain in London. Brooklyn has also befriended Nicola’s brothers, Will and ice hockey player Brad.

However, life with the Peltzes hasn’t always been happy families. I’m told that following a fall-out between Nicola and Victoria in 2022 – after Nicola chose to wear a Valentino wedding gown, rather than a dress made by her designer mother-in-law – relations between Nicola and her own mother were strained.

It was also reported at the time that Nelson was getting tired of Brooklyn not having a job and instead lounging around in his dressing gown.

But today, the rift between the families is bigger than ever and cynics say that Brooklyn and Nicola are taking full advantage by playing their parents off against each other.

And at the heart of it was that Easter in 2021. Brooklyn and Nicola also received a lavish hamper from Nelson and Claudia – and took to Instagram to issue a very public thank you. This was painful for Victoria, given that Brooklyn hadn’t wished her a Happy Mother’s Day a fortnight before.

Similarly, the couple were on Instagram again last month showing off a floral bouquet from the Peltzes for their third wedding anniversary.

‘Thank you so much for these amazing flowers from my in-laws,’ Brooklyn enthused. ‘Love you guys.’ There was no mention of his own parents.

‘Can you imagine what it must feel like to see messages to Nicola’s parents like that, when she and Brooklyn didn’t bother to go to David’s birthday celebrations?’ mused one source. ‘Couple that with the fact that the Peltzes and the Beckhams are hardly on the best terms. It must be enough to make David and Victoria furious.’