Brooklyn Beckham's 'Overwhelming Anxiety' Is Very Common for Children of Celebrities: Expert (Exclusive)
- - Brooklyn Beckham's 'Overwhelming Anxiety' Is Very Common for Children of Celebrities: Expert (Exclusive)
Gillian TellingJanuary 28, 2026 at 1:10 AM
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Brooklyn Peltz Beckham attends the Dior Homme Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 21, 2024
Francois Durand/Getty
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert explains that Brooklyn Beckham's 'lifelong anxiety' is hardly surprising considering his life in the spotlight
He tells PEOPLE that adult children pulling away from their parents and leaning on their spouse is also very common: 'They have a strong desire to pull away from the family narrative'
Commenting on the Beckham family rift, Alpert opines that they may be able to reconcile, but it will have to take privacy, and open hearts and minds
On Jan. 19, when Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, 26, unleashed a social media tirade against his parents Victoria and David Beckham, he blamed them for everything from trying to ruin his marriage to Nicola Peltz Beckham to causing his lifelong anxiety.
“I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life," he wrote. "I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared,” he wrote, adding, “I do not want to reconcile with my family... I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose and have found peace.”
Jonathan Alpert, psychotherapist and author of the upcoming book Therapy Nation, tells PEOPLE Brooklyn's anxiety is unsurprising.
"What Brooklyn seems to be experiencing is actually very common among children who grow up in the public eye," he says. "When a child is raised in an environment where they are constantly watched, photographed, and fodder for tabloids, it can interfere with the normal process of developing a stable sense of self...they lack psychological privacy."
Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham attend the Cloud23 Launch Party on October 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California ; Victoria and David Beckham attend the 'Beckham' UK Premiere on October 03, 2023 in London, England.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty ; Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Alpert adds, “Normal mistakes, identity exploration, and growing pains happen under observation. That pressure can lead to a constant fear of disappointing others. Being compared to extraordinarily successful parents can make it difficult to build confidence or a sense of independence.”
Indeed, Brooklyn seems to be the one in the family to have struggled to find his footing over the years — despite a Beckham source telling PEOPLE that his parents have "always supported Brooklyn in whatever he wanted to do."
As a child, Brooklyn played soccer like his dad, and showed promise, but when he was dropped by Arsenal’s youth club, he quit the sport altogether at 15, citing pressure. He also studied photography at a fine arts high school back in London, releasing a photo book at just 18, and then attended Parsons School of Design in New York for a year. Since then, he's explored careers in modeling, cooking, and most recently, launched a hot sauce line.
David Beckham and his son Brooklyn attend Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles lakers in Los Angeles, California, June 10, 2008
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty
"For many celebrity children, their identity is shaped long before they ever have the chance to discover who they are," Alper says. "That can create anxiety, confusion, and a strong desire later in life to step away from the family narrative."
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He notes that David, 50, and Victoria, 51, aren't necessarily at fault — it's just the way it is.
"This doesn't suggest bad parenting," he says. "Even loving, supportive parents can’t fully protect a child from the psychological pressure that comes with global fame. When that attention begins in infancy, as it did for Brooklyn, the lack of privacy becomes the backdrop of their entire development. We saw this play out with the Royal family, too."
David and Brooklyn Beckham, when David was a midfielder for Manchester United, in 2002
Phil Noble - PA Images/PA Images via Getty
So what commonly happens next? As these kids become adults, they often begin to pull away from mom and dad, Alpert says.
"It’s not unusual to see periods of anger, distance, or efforts to redefine themselves," Alpert says. "That separation is often less about rejecting their parents and more about trying to establish independence on their own terms."
It also means Brooklyn would certainly be more likely to lean on his wife Nicola, 31, whom a source told PEOPLE has been his unwavering rock as he navigates the estrangement. "Brooklyn has felt more support from his wife in these past three years than from his parents in his entire life," the source said.
Brooklyn Beckham (L) and his wife US actress Nicola Peltz pose ahead of the presentation of creations by Mugler for the Women Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2024/2025 collection as part of the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris on March 3, 2024
GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty
"Often what’s really happening is a shift in loyalty," Alpert explains. "A spouse becomes the primary relationship. From the outside, that can look like control, but psychologically it’s usually about feeling supported and understood."
As for whether a reconciliation between the feuding family is in the cards? Sources tell PEOPLE it's not happening anytime soon, and Alpert says if it does, it needs to happen privately.
"Situations like this are incredibly delicate, and they’re usually best handled away from public view," he says. "When family conflict plays out on social media, it can lock people into positions they might not otherwise take and complicate matters even more."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
