There were A-list guests, Michelin-starred food, expensive wines and designer gowns. The final 50th birthday celebrations for David Beckham brought to an end a week of festivities as the former England footballer and his wife Victoria pulled out all the stops with a white-tie dinner and party at top London restaurant Core, attended by close friends including Tom Cruise and Eva Longoria Bastón.
© InstagramBut there were two very important people missing on the night: the couple’s eldest son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham.
Despite flying into London during the week David turned 50, they failed to show up at any of several events planned to mark his big day, leaving the whole family upset and disappointed and their apparent rift now clear to see.
However, despite the shocking snub, insiders tell us that David and Victoria want a family summit and to resolve the crisis as soon as possible with their 26-year-old son, who is based in California with his wife of three years.
© Getty ImagesPlaying peacemaker
"They are keen to heal the rift," a close source tells HELLO!. "David has reached out already and will fly out to see Brooklyn if necessary.
"They are going to put this fire out; David has said that he wants the dust to settle and for everyone to talk when emotions have settled down.
"Brooklyn’s hurt them. It hurts them that he’s aired their dirty laundry, but David will not let this continue for much longer. He wants to put everyone in a room together – they need to iron this out now or nothing is going to change."
© GettyHELLO! also understands that his parents’ door will always remain open to Brooklyn, whenever he is ready to return; the love between the two parties remains strong and everyone is hopeful that there will be a reconciliation sooner rather than later.
According to insiders, Nicola has been a cause of friction between her husband and his parents, as a billionaire’s daughter who grew up in a privileged environment and is used to doing things her way.
"From the minute Nicola came into the family, she hasn’t shown what Victoria would say is respect towards them," the source tells HELLO!
"Tensions rose at their wedding and that situation has continued; Victoria and Nicola don’t really get along. Over the past few months, Nicola has been causing things to fester and everyone to fall out."
The frostiness in the pair’s relationship developed during preparations for Nicola and Brooklyn’s £3m wedding, and things have not improved.
At the time, reports suggested that the former Spice Girl and her new daughter-in-law had fallen out after the actress failed to wear a Victoria Beckham-designed wedding dress on her big day, later explaining it away by saying that her atelier could not finish it on time.
© InstagramTensions grew from there, with one source saying that a recent family gathering went awry when Victoria brought up the subject of having a grandchild with Nicola, 30.
"When they were last together, Victoria was talking about babies, saying that she was a young mum and that it might be a good idea to get going. Nicola didn’t take well to that," the source continues.
The drama has been unfolding on social media for months, with onlookers inferring a rift from the parties’ failure to like one another’s Instagram posts or acknowledge major milestones.
© InstagramGrowing rift
None of the Beckhams liked a post celebrating the young couple’s third wedding anniversary, while Brooklyn and Nicola have missed a series of other family events, notably Victoria’s recent 51st birthday celebrations and David’s 49th birthday last year.
Another insider says: "All families have their ups and downs – what family doesn’t? But what’s different about this is that it’s so public. David and Victoria have done their best to show love to Brooklyn and Nicola, supporting all their projects, but it’s obvious that there has been tension for a while."
Nicola is very close to her father Nelson and mother Claudia. However, the Peltz family are no strangers to controversy, with Nelson having sued Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding planners, who were fired just weeks before the nuptials, for not returning their deposit. The matter was later settled out of court.
Despite missing David’s first 50th birthday gathering with friends in Miami – the city where he is president and co-founder of football team Inter Miami – last month, the couple did fly into London two weeks ago with the intention of attending at least some of the footballer’s celebrations.
An insider tells us that Brooklyn and Nicola were invited to every event and were planning to attend, including a family dinner at the Beckhams’ Cotswolds home and a boys’ fishing trip to Scotland with David, Romeo, 22, and Cruz, 20, plus a brief trip to a French vineyard.
However, despite the hurtful drama, which left Victoria in tears during the birthday celebrations, David had an incredible time celebrating his 50th, and has been humbled by the outpouring of birthday tributes to him.
He was also determined that the drama should not detract from the joy of celebrating his half-century.
"Clearly David and Victoria were disappointed that Brooklyn and Nicola didn’t attend his celebrations, but they are also conscious that every family has its arguments and they don’t see themselves as different or special in that way," another source tells HELLO!.
"Despite that, David had a fantastic night, and he was so moved and genuinely grateful for the amount of effort that his family and friends went to. He was also very touched by the tributes paid to him from around the world."
To read the full exclusive report, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
