Harper and Brooklyn Beckham's 'tight' sibling bond that's been impacted by family fallout


The teenager and the hot sauce brand Cloud23 founder were famously close before Brooklyn's bombshell allegations that catapulted the family's private affairs into the public spotlight


Brooklyn Beckham, Harper Beckham© WWD via Getty Images
3 hours ago
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As the Beckham drama continues to unfold, one family member has been firmly placed in the middle of the row. Harper Seven Beckham is the only child still living under her parents' roof, putting her in an awkward position as the world - and her brothers - take sides. 

The 14-year-old only daughter of David and Victoria Beckham has a famously close bond with all of her siblings, but in particular, her eldest brother, Brooklyn, 26. 

After he shared his side of the ongoing feud between himself, his wife, Nicola Peltz, 31, and his celebrity parents, the public weighed in, and the family's private relationships were exposed. 

While Cruz and Romeo carried on with their lives in London, taking trips to Paris for fashion week and enjoying double-date nights with their other halves, Jackie Apostel and Kim Turnbull, Harper tagged along with her parents and presumably returned to school

Since then, rumours of court cases, name changes and social media blockings have flooded the internet, but what has all the chaos done to Harper's relationship with her brother, and can their bond survive this massive, public fallout? 

Harper's relationship with Brooklyn before the feud 

© GC Images
Harper and Brooklyn Beckham have a famously close bond

Born in July 2011, in Los Angeles, Harper and Brooklyn have famously enjoyed a close sibling relationship as the eldest son was extremely protective of his little sister. 

As well as her own brother, the young starlet is known to have had a great relationship with her sister-in-law, Brooklyn's wife Nicola. The billionaire heiress even said Harper was a "dream little sister".

The trio have been pictured plenty of times together, sitting front row at Victoria's fashion shows and attending family birthdays. Brooklyn and Nicola have posted about Harper's birthday on social media, adding captions such as: "Happy birthday Harper. We love u x".

Harper breaks her silence 

Following Brooklyn's bombshell statement, the Beckhams have slowly returned to social media with various posts and comments unrelated to their brother and son's claims. 

Harper recently activated a private Instagram account and used it to show her support for her family amid the rising tensions. While Romeo walked the runway in France for Willy Chavarria at Paris Fashion Week, his little sister snapped a picture of the moment and posted it to her Instagram Story with a note that read: "Yet again!! Another amazing show x @romeobeckham @willychavarria [black love heart emoji]."

© Instagram
Brooklyn penned a short tribute to his sister, Harper Beckham, for her birthday

She also shared her adoration for her fashion designer mum as Victoria became a Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) in Paris. 

Underneath her mum's post celebrating the honour, the teenager praised her and wrote in the comments: "My biggest role model x."

Harper has yet to comment on her relationship with her oldest brother, who claimed his parents were "controlling" and had attempted to have him sign away his namesake before he married Nicola in 2022. 

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.

What do the experts think? 

The Beckham drama has taken the entertainment world by storm and as the family pick up the pieces, PR experts are offering advice as to how best to handle the damning comments. 

Peter Barrett is a partner at specialist reputation management advisers Maltin PR, who made their name helping high-net-worth individuals and companies manage media scrutiny during disputes, litigation, or other reputational challenges. He told HELLO! how Brooklyn's words could damage the entire family

The expert said: "Brooklyn’s statement is extraordinary and deeply damaging for Brand Beckham. The allegations do two things: first, they lift the veil to shine an embarrassing light on the inner workings of the family and its commercial operation. But worse, they cut to the heart of something that resonates with every reader and every fan: the role of a mother and a father in a child’s life."

He continued: "There are two sides to every story, but the family must tread carefully. The world is now watching how two parents respond to their son. Any attempt to hit back hard, including via potential comments from proxy third-parties close to the family, is high risk. They must think long-term and compassionately."


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