As the alleged feud between the Beckhams rumbles on, experts says that Victoria has found a coping mechanism despite feeling heartbroken over her son’s absence from the family.
Despite smiling through her latest holiday snaps, Victoria Beckham is reportedly “heartbroken” over the feud tearing her family apart, a source tells Mirror. This month, the rift escalated as Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz renewed their wedding vows in the US – without inviting any members of the Beckham clan along.
And while the family appeared to be enjoying life aboard their £16M yacht – where son Cruz ‘stole’ his dad’s tiny white trunks and the family had an epic response – Clinical psychologist Dr Sona Kaur says that by sharing the snaps, Victoria could be masking her true feelings: “Emotionally, she may be trying to protect herself from everything that’s happening, and it might be a coping mechanism and a way of dissociating herself from pain and loss.”
In a flurry of Instagram shots, Brooklyn, 26, and Nicola, 30, were seen reaffirming their love at a lavish bash held at her family’s country estate near New York. Nicola wore her mother Claudia’s 1985 vintage wedding dress, while her billionaire father Nelson officiated at the ceremony.
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The lovebirds also posed with Nicola’s closest relatives and friends, piling misery on Victoria and husband David – who reportedly only heard about the event when they read about it online.
“Victoria’s heart is breaking behind closed doors,” our source says. “Brooklyn is her firstborn and she’s worried she’s never going to get him back. Seeing him and Nicola renew their vows without her and David was tough. They have missed out on some big family moments already and Victoria is afraid that the longer this goes on, the less chance there is of it being resolved.”
Brooklyn and Nicola also shared pictures of their butterfly-themed afterparty, with celebrity guests including actor Adrien Brody and his partner Georgina Chapman.
This week, Posh, 51, and Becks, 50, shared their own photos of a sun-soaked holiday in the south of France, where they were seen on a yacht and enjoying meals out with their other children Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and 14-year-old Harper.
“Victoria has been posting smiley pictures on Instagram and it looks like they were having a great holiday, but that doesn’t mean Brooklyn isn’t on her mind,” adds our source. “It’s been so long now that Victoria is wondering if this really is it. It’s the exact opposite of time being a healer.”
Dr Kaur tells us that the rift must be especially upsetting with the world watching on. “Any kind of family estrangement is painful, but especially when it plays out in public. The psychological impact of that gets magnified on a different level,” she says.
Dr Kaur suggests Victoria might even be doubting her own role as mother. “Family rifts are deeply heartbreaking, and they really can cut into the core of our identity and our belonging. For someone like Victoria, whose identity is intertwined with her family and public brand, being excluded from an important milestone like her son’s vow renewal probably brings feelings of grief, rejection – and maybe even a questioning of her own self-worth.”
David recently appeared to offer an olive branch to Brooklyn, liking one of his Instagram posts in which he gives a cooking tutorial using his hot sauce brand, Cloud 23. But Brooklyn failed to acknowledge David’s 50th birthday in May, and also stayed silent on Father’s Day in June.
Nor did he publicly wish his mum a happy birthday in April, and while the rest of the family partied in Miami, he and Nicola were notably absent. In July, Brooklyn seemed to ignore his parents’ 26th wedding anniversary, and he also failed to acknowledge David’s recent knighthood on social media.
“The two families are worlds apart now,” adds our source. “David can’t believe Brooklyn could do this to his family. He just doesn’t understand it, and as a family man he feels really let down. David feels they’ve tried to patch things up but aren’t getting anywhere with Brooklyn and Nicola, so all he can do now is put his wife and the rest of the family first.”
It’s understood relations were souring even ahead of Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding three years ago. As well as an alleged disagreement over the design of the bride’s wedding dress, there were rumours that Nicola felt “upstaged” by Victoria at times.
Last month, Brooklyn was apparently blocked by his brothers Romeo and Cruz on Instagram. The same day, he did acknowledge Harper’s 14th birthday, and later in July marked his grandfather Ted Beckham’s 77th birthday by posting an old photo of the pair together and writing, “Happy birthday grandad. I love you xx.”
But as the drama continues, a pal of Brooklyn and Nicola claims David and Victoria were never even considered for the guest list. “In the current climate… hell would have had to freeze over before that happened,” they said.
Speaking about his special day with Nicola, Brooklyn said, “To be honest, I could renew my vows every single day with her. I think the most important thing that someone can do is find that person they’re going to spend the rest of their life with. It definitely shapes you as a person.”
