Body language expert decodes 'uncomfortable' moment between Brooklyn Beckham's 'Queen bees' Victoria and Nicola

Did we miss early signs of a disastrous feud in 2023? Body language expert Judi James is on the case

Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz© WireImage
Lucy Norris
Lucy NorrisWriter
2 minutes ago
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Brooklyn Beckham's bombshell statement about his ongoing feud with his parents, Victoria and David Beckham and his siblings, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper, did more than just break the internet. 

Days later, and as more truths are revealed, the fallout continues with old insiders spilling family secrets and those at the 26-year-old's infamous wedding to Nicola Peltz, 31, exposing what really happened during that first dance. 

Amid the Beckhams' family drama, a very awkward moment between the matriarch and her daughter-in-law has resurfaced, showing signs of an early feud that dates back to a red carpet in 2023. 

The family and their significant others turned up to support their dad, David, at the London premiere of his Netflix docu-series Beckham; however, it appeared tensions were already running high between the famous couple and their eldest son. We asked a body language expert to dissect the interaction and tell us what it all really means… 

Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham's 'uncomfortable' public moment with mum Victoria caught on camera - watch

What happened on the red carpet in 2023? 

Lining up for a photo op, the entire clan was dressed to the nines for the star-studded evening that included Romeo's ex-girlfriend and model Mia Regan and Brooklyn's wife of a year at the time, American actress Nicola. 

Wrapping arms around each other as cameras flashed, the moment in question happened when Brooklyn tried to inch closer to his mother with his spouse on the other side of him. 

Caught on video, Victoria seemingly turns her back on her son when he tries to catch her attention and remains stony-faced as she flashes her usual straight-faced expression at the paparazzi. 

At the end of the line, Nicola reluctantly moves closer to her husband, but not without throwing what appears to be a few side-eyes at her mother-in-law. The billionaire heiress looked less than impressed while posing alongside her new family for the duration of the clip. 

(L-R)Harper Beckham, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz attend the Netflix 'Beckham' UK Premiere in 2023© Samir Hussein/WireImage
The frosty moment happened on the red carpet of the Beckham premiere

A body language expert weighs in 

Clearly, something was amiss, but what does their behaviour tell us about the state of their relationship at that time? A renowned body language expert for more than 15 years, Judi James regularly appears on the likes of BBC News and ITV's This Morning to help analyse the inner psyche of celebrities through their various bodily movements. 

She exclusively told HELLO!: "Victoria's poses are carefully crafted and, once she has struck them for the cameras, virtually immobile, so it was no surprise to see her making no apparent move to acknowledge or embrace Brooklyn and Nicola as they went to join the line-up. 

"Her shoulders were tilted towards the heart of this family pose, which meant David and Harper, leaving Brooklyn to ease himself in behind her very sharply padded shoulder."

The expert moved on to share her thoughts about Brooklyn's actions: "Brooklyn's body language here suggests a policy of appeasement and an attempt to both coax and to please as he gets in between the two Queen Bees in his life. 

Judi James has been a celebrity body language expert for more than 15 years © Judi James
Judi James has been a celebrity body language expert for more than 15 years

"He leans in towards his mother, wearing the kind of performed, warm, social smile the family are know for on red carpets, and he even seems to hold one arm out towards Victoria, which she appears oblivious of."

She added: "His challenge appears to be to get a rather unhappy-looking Nicola into the line-up. As the photographers yell for them to move inward towards the middle, Nicola seems to have placed a spatial gap between herself and the others, meaning Brooklyn's other arm is placed around her waist to gently encourage her to stand closer."

Finally, she decoded Nicola's facial expressions: "There is what looks like a glance from Nicola to Victoria, but there are no signs of any response, and Nicola's unsmiling facial expression, with her chin raised and the barest, thin smile where just the upper lip is lifted, gives the impression she is uncomfortable here.

"Brooklyn appears keen to stay on-brand here, but he also looks aware and even wary of Nicola's apparent awkwardness." 

The family break their social media silence

Sharing his thoughts on his Instagram Story, Brooklyn laid his cards bare and stated he had no intentions to reconcile with his family on Monday evening. 

Since then, the rest of the Beckham clan have slowly been spotted in public, attending various events or posting to their social media accounts, brushing off the notice from their eldest brother and son. 

Shortly after Brooklyn's Stories, Cruz, 20, proved it was business as usual for the budding musician as he posted snaps of himself working on his music in the studio ahead of his upcoming tour. 

David Beckham speaks in a podcast booth, at the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos© Alamy Live News.
David Beckham speaks in a podcast booth, at the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos

David showed his face in Davos on Tuesday for the World Economic Forum in his capacity as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as well as a partner of Authentic Brands Group and co-owner of Inter Miami CF. He made no comments about his son's claims. 

Victoria also returned to her posting schedule online as she uploaded vintage Spice Girl pictures in celebration of Emma Bunton's 50th birthday on Wednesday. 

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. 

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. 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. 

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. 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. 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. 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 peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family.

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