Brooklyn Beckham, son of former captain of England football team, David Beckham, has addressed his long-running estrangement from his parents, maintaining that he has no desire for reconciliation.

Brooklyn, in a lengthy statement via his Instagram story, said he had tried for years to keep family issues private but felt compelled to speak after what he described as continued media briefings by his parents and their team.

He also accused his parents of controlling narratives about the family through the press and social media, describing public displays as “performative” and relationships as “inauthentic”.

He alleged that efforts to protect a public image had come at the expense of innocent people and strained family bonds.

“I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed,” he wrote.

“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. For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.

Brooklyn with his parents

“Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.”

The 26-year-old said tensions escalated around his 2022 wedding to Nicola. He claimed his mother cancelled plans to make Nicola’s wedding dress at the last minute, forcing her to urgently find another designer.

He also alleged that, weeks before the wedding, his parents pressured him to sign away rights to his name, a move he said would have affected him, his wife and their future children.

According to Brooklyn, his refusal to sign the deal changed how he was treated. He further alleged that his mother called him “evil” during wedding planning and that family members told him on the eve of the ceremony that Nicola was “not blood” and “not family”.

He also recounted an incident at the wedding reception where, instead of a planned first dance with his wife, he was unexpectedly called on stage to dance with his mother in front of about 500 guests, an experience he described as “humiliating”.

“My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped. My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress. Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children,” he added.

“They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since. During the wedding planning, my mum went so far as to call me “evil” because Nicola and I chose to include my Nanny Sandra, and Nicola’s Naunni at our table, because they both didn’t have their husbands. Both of our parents had their own tables equally adjacent to ours.

“The night before our wedding, members of my family told me that Nicola was “not blood” and “not family.” Since the moment I started standing up for myself with my family, I’ve received endless attacks from my parents, both privately and publicly, that were sent to the press on their orders. Even my brothers were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere this last Summer.

“My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love song. In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony called me to the stage, where in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me instead. She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone.”

He added that Nicola has been “consistently disrespected” by his family, alleging that women from his past were deliberately invited into their lives to make the couple uncomfortable.

Brooklyn concluded that stepping away from his family has brought him peace and relief from lifelong anxiety.

“I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life. We wanted to renew our vows so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment. My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we’ve tried to come together as one,” he wrote.

“My mum has repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us both uncomfortable. Despite this, we still travelled to London for my dad’s birthday and were rejected for a week as we waited in our hotel room trying to plan quality time with him. He refused all of our attempts, unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner.

“When he finally agreed to see me, it was under the condition that Nicola wasn’t invited. It was a slap in the face. Later, when my family travelled to LA, they refused to see me at all. My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first. Family “love” is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp, even if it’s at the expense of our professional obligations.

“We’ve gone out of our way for years to show up and support at every fashion show, every party, and every press activity to show “our perfect family.” But the one time my wife asked for my mum’s support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused. The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety.

“For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared. I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief. My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want [is] peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.”