Inside Nicola Peltz's Wedding Dress Controversy

Nicola Peltz's wedding dress was supposed to be a Victoria Beckham design, but she wore something different. Now, her husband is shedding light on what really happened.

When Nicola Peltz married Brooklyn Beckham on April 9, 2022, she wore custom Valentino Haute Couture. The gown made headlines, turned heads, and seemed to seal a fairytale ending.

But behind the seams was a decision that still casts a long shadow. Victoria Beckham had agreed to design Nicola's wedding dress. Then, according to Brooklyn, she backed out without warning.

"My mum cancelled making Nicola's dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design," he shared on a recent Instagram Story.

The fallout, he claimed, was not just about fashion. "[My parents] have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped," he stated.

Ghosted by the Atelier

Nicola had already shared her version of events in an interview with Grazia. "Well, I was planning on wearing Victoria's wedding dress," she revealed. "And I was truly so excited to be able to wear a design that my future mother-in-law created."

She said that she, her mother Claudia, and stylist Leslie Fremar had begun the process with Victoria's team. Then, communication stopped. "We connected to start designing the dress, and then a few days went by, and I didn't hear anything," she shared.

Victoria eventually phoned Nicola's mother to say her atelier could not handle the job.

Valentino to the Rescue

With Victoria out, Nicola turned to Valentino's creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli. What followed was a year of fittings, custom design, and global travel. Nicola met the team twice in the United States, flew to Rome twice, and hosted seamstresses in Miami.

Stylist Leslie Fremar, who has worked with Julianne Moore and Charlize Theron, called the gown the most beautiful dress she had ever laid eyes on. Nicola responded, "Coming from Leslie, that is incredible."

Online, fans were obsessed. One commented, "She look [sic] like old Hollywood glam." Another wrote, "That certainly is a bride worth seeing and admiring." A third one gushed, "Perfect bride, love the train."

Rumors Refused to Die

Even after the wedding, whispers of a family feud refused to fade. Nicola again addressed the rumors in an interview with Variety.

"I was going to, and I really wanted to, and then a few months down the line, she realized that her atelier couldn't do it," she explained. "She didn't say you can't wear it, I didn't say I didn't want to wear it. That's where it started, and then they ran with that."

Brooklyn tried to shut it down, too. "They're always going to try and put people down," he said. "But everyone gets along, which is good." But in private, he may have been telling another story.

Our previous report explored how, after years of public unity masking private strain, the former professional footballer's son finally broke his silence on the long-simmering rift with his parents, and how those tensions have shaped his life.

In May 2025, People reported on that strain, noting that Brooklyn and his wife, Nicola, who live in Los Angeles, were notably absent from his father's 50th birthday celebration despite being invited.

At the time, sources told the outlet it was unclear why they did not attend. "The relationship is definitely not beyond repair," an insider said then. "They love and are always there for [Brooklyn]. They're just hurt and disappointed that he's now playing no part in family life."

Until now, Brooklyn had largely stayed out of the public conversation, even as speculation continued to grow.

A Family Rift Long Kept Out of Public View

He said he spent years trying to shield his family's private matters from public scrutiny, but that restraint became unsustainable as more stories surfaced in the press.

On January 19, 2026, he addressed the situation directly through a series of Instagram Stories. "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," he began.

He made clear that his decision to speak was his own, "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."

Growing Up Under a Carefully Curated Image

Brooklyn described his upbringing as one shaped heavily by image management. He said public narratives about the Beckham family were tightly controlled, creating what he characterized as a performative version of family life.

He said that his parents shaped the public narrative about their family throughout his life, creating an environment defined by performative social media posts, staged family events, and relationships he described as inauthentic.

He added that he grew up in a tightly controlled public narrative, where curated social media moments and staged family appearances masked deeper issues.

Brooklyn alleged that, weeks before the wedding, his parents pressured and attempted to bribe him into signing over the rights to his name, insisting the agreement be finalized before the ceremony and saying his refusal ultimately affected the deal’s financial outcome and permanently changed how he was treated.

Seating Disputes and Hurtful Accusations

Even reception arrangements became a source of conflict. Brooklyn said his mother reacted angrily when he and Nicola chose to seat his grandmother, Nanny Sandra, and Nicola's grandmother, Naunni, at their table because both women were widowed.

"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," he wrote, noting that both sets of parents had their own tables equally adjacent to the couple.

The night before the wedding, Brooklyn said some family members told him Nicola was "not blood" and "not family," comments that he said caused lasting emotional damage.

A First Dance That Became a Public Humiliation

Brooklyn described the wedding reception as the moment when tensions became impossible to ignore. He said a romantic first dance he and Nicola had planned weeks was abruptly taken over.

"My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife," he wrote. According to Brooklyn, singer Marc Anthony called him onto the stage, where the schedule indicated he would dance with Nicola. Instead, his mother was waiting.

"She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I've never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life," he said, adding that the incident occurred in front of their 500 wedding guests.

Brooklyn said the experience overshadowed the day and contributed to anxiety so severe that he and Nicola later considered renewing their vows to replace memories tied to "anxiety and embarrassment."

Alleged Ongoing Interference in His Marriage

Beyond the wedding, Brooklyn accused his mother of repeatedly inviting women from his past into their lives in ways he said were meant to make both him and Nicola uncomfortable.

He also claimed that once he began setting boundaries, attacks escalated. "Even my brothers were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere this last Summer," he wrote.

David’s Birthday and a Breaking Point

Brooklyn said he and Nicola still attempted to show up for his family, including traveling to London for his father's milestone birthday.

According to him, the visit deepened the rift rather than healed it. He said that he and Nicola spent a week waiting in their hotel while attempts to arrange private time were rejected unless it involved a large, highly public birthday event.

When a meeting was finally offered, Brooklyn said it came with a painful condition: Nicola was not invited. "It was a slap in the face," he wrote. He added that when the family later traveled to Los Angeles, they refused to see him at all.

Public Image Over Private Support

Brooklyn accused his parents of placing brand visibility above family relationships. "Brand Beckham comes first," he wrote, saying that love and acceptance were tied to social media appearances and public participation.

He pointed to one moment as especially painful, saying that when Nicola asked his mother for support in helping displaced dogs during the Los Angeles fires, the request was refused.

Anxiety, Distance, and Finding Peace

Addressing persistent claims that Nicola controls him, the author of the book "What I See" firmly rejected the accusation, calling it a misrepresentation of his experience and the reality of his marriage.

He described growing up with severe anxiety that only began to subside after he stepped away from his family, a change he described as bringing him peace and relief for the first time.

Where Things Stand Now

Despite earlier suggestions from sources that the relationship could be repaired, Brooklyn said reconciliation is not his goal. He concluded that he and his wife are seeking a life defined by peace, privacy, and happiness, rather than one driven by image, press, or manipulation.

Only after years of silence has Brooklyn laid out his version of events, directly challenging the public narrative surrounding one of the world's most famous families and explaining, in his own words, why he chose to walk away.