Ted Beckham is said to be determined to keep up his relationship with his eldest grandson Brooklyn amid his ongoing family estrangement, because it is bringing back memories of the ‘agony’ he felt during his own rift with son David.
Six weeks ago, the aspiring chef, 26, shared his bombshell statement severing all ties with his parents permanently, claiming they ‘controlled me for most of my life’.
And despite both David and Victoria offering public olive branches to their eldest child, most recently with Instagram posts to mark his 27th birthday on Wednesday, their pleas have gone unacknowledged.
But despite the feud even engulfing his brothers, Romeo and Cruz, who remain blocked by Brooklyn on Instagram, he has deliberately avoided involving his beloved grandparents – who he is said to still be on speaking terms with.
And according to new reports, David’s father, Ted, 78, is working hard to maintain the bond, out of hopes he can stop history from repeating itself.
The feud is said to be bringing up past demons for Ted, with him seeing the rift between David and Brooklyn being the facsimile of his own years-long fallout with the former footballer, 50.
Ted Beckham is said to be determined to keep up his relationship with his eldest grandson Brooklyn amid his ongoing family estrangement, because it is bringing back memories of the ‘agony’ he felt during his own rift with son David (seen with Brooklyn)
The feud is said to be bringing up past demons for Ted, with him seeing the rift between David and Brooklyn being the facsimile of his own years-long fallout with the former footballer (pictured together)
An insider has said that when Ted looks at the current frosty relations between the father-and-son, he sees ‘an absolute mirror image of his own mistakes’.
‘He knows the agony of being shut out of a son’s life,’ they told The Sun. ‘He remembers the years he lost with David, the birthdays missed, the Christmases spent in stony silence.’
They added that everyone believes that David and Brooklyn are letting their best years be ruined by ‘stubborn pride’, with Ted determined not to allow it to get in the way of his relationship with his eldest grandson.
‘It is clear that Ted wants to remind Brooklyn that he is always there for him despite the family drama,’ the source said.
And the most recent reports suggest Brooklyn feels the same way to his grandfather, with it being said he is still in regular contact with Ted and his wife Hilary, even while remaining estranged from his parents and siblings.
One source said that Brooklyn has ‘a very soft spot for Ted’, while describing Ted as ‘just a grandad who loves his boy’.
While most importantly, they claimed that wife Nicola Peltz is equally fond of Ted and Hilary, so the couple have made a conscious effort to ‘make sure to keep that channel open’.
Despite snubbing a slew of his family’s milestones, including David’s knighthood and Victoria’s docuseries, Brooklyn notably did share a birthday tribute to Ted last summer.
The aspiring chef posted a photo of them together to his Instagram with the caption: ‘Happy birthday grandad. I love you xx’.
An insider has said that when Ted looks at the current frosty relations between the father-and-son, he sees ‘an absolute mirror image of his own mistakes’ (David and Brooklyn in 2019)
Ted and Hilary marked Brooklyn’s 27th birthday on Wednesday, but unlike the rest of the Beckham clan, they included photos of his wife Nicola, captioning the post: ‘Happy birthday Brooklyn. Hope you have a fabulous day. With love from Grandad and Hilary’
And on Wednesday, Ted and Hilary returned the favour, sharing a number of snaps in honour of Brooklyn’s 27th birthday.
Unlike the rest of the Beckham clan, they included photos of his wife Nicola, captioning the post: ‘Happy birthday Brooklyn. Hope you have a fabulous day. With love from Grandad and Hilary.’
Daily Mail revealed earlier this year that Brooklyn made an effort to notify press that his bitterness to his parents did not extend to his grandparents.
A friend of the influencer explained: ‘While things between him and his parents are over, Brooklyn is still very fond of his grandparents. There is a lot of love for them, and that has never faltered.’
While they now share a close-knit relationship, David and Ted endured their own five-year feud, and like with Brooklyn, were once not even on speaking terms.
After Ted suffered a near-death health scare in 2007, it sparked the pair to make amends and get back in touch – and they have been close ever since.
David previously revealed he had to wait ‘over two decades’ before getting any approval from his father over his successful football career.
Chatting to James Corden on his podcast series This Life of Mine in 2024, David admitted his ambitious drive came from the desire to please his father Ted – earning a ‘you’ve made it boy’ only after he won 100 caps.
‘My dad never told me I’d done well really until my hundredth cap. That was the first time my dad turned around to me and said, ‘you’ve made it boy’.
He said he didn’t get the same recognition at any other point in his career despite six Premier League titles, two FA cups, four Community Shields and a Champions League title.
David’s parents divorced in 2002 following 33 years of marriage – with the process slow because the couple had not been able to agree a financial settlement.
The pair were rarely seen together in the years that followed, and it became clear that David had taken his mother’s side during the divorce – often pictured with his mum Sandra at family gatherings and promotional events.
While they now share a close-knit relationship, David and Ted endured their own five-year feud, and like with Brooklyn, were once not even on speaking terms (seen with Ted and Sandra)
Meanwhile, Ted was left on the sidelines, with David seemingly struggling to forgive him for printing an unauthorised biography on his England captain son without permission.
Ted was said to have been a harsh taskmaster while David was growing up berating him for any tiny footballing mistakes on the training pitch and matches – and this tough love spilt into his marriage.
David admitted as they were growing up, he never saw his father be tender to his mum.
He wrote in his 2001 autobiography: ‘He loves my mum but he’s never been affectionate to her in front of my two sisters and me. He’s quite hard-faced and can be sarcastic.
‘He also gets fired up easily… The quality I like least in myself is my short temper. I think I get it from my dad.’
The pair also struggled to bond when the former England captain moved to Real Madrid in 2003 – with Ted admitting the distance meant he feared he’d ‘lost him forever’.
At the time, he said: ‘I don’t know if I can repair my relationship with him. Nobody wants to see history repeating itself.
‘It shouldn’t take a tragedy or a hospital dash to force a family to make peace.’
This was compounded by the 2005 publication of Ted’s unauthorised biography David Beckham: My Son, which only deepened the rift.
Frosty relations continued when Ted refused David’s offer of tickets to watch him play in the 2006 World Cup.
But relations finally improved in 2007 when Ted suffered a near-fatal heart attack aged 58, where paramedics fought for three hours to save him and he was told he had ‘died’ in the ambulance on the way to the hospital before being rushed into surgery to unblock an artery.
David, who had just transferred to LA Galaxy, flew home from the US immediately and rushed to his dad’s bedside, and it pushed both men to finally put the feud behind them.
David paid off his dad’s mortgage and bought him a Jaguar, and by 2021, old wounds appear to have healed as David was the best man at his father’s wedding to partner Hilary, and he proudly celebrated his son’s birthday last year.
Now based in the United States with his heiress wife Nicola, Brooklyn recently outlined his desire to distance himself from his family in a six-page Instagram statement filled with lurid allegations.
Addressing social media followers in January, he claimed his parents had tried to sabotage his marriage and have always prioritised public branding over their family relationships.
‘For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family,’ he wrote.
‘The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.’
He added: ‘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.’
Unlike his three younger siblings, Brooklyn did not appear in his mother’s recent Netflix docuseries, nor did he show up at the October premiere as he and Nicola had for the London premiere of his father’s docuseries in 2023.
Brooklyn and his wife also missed David’s 50th birthday celebrations last May, and were notably absent at Windsor Castle for the former footballer’s long-awaited investiture on November 4.
