Controlling mothers and manipulative mothers-in-law are not just a desi problem, if the latest Beckham family feud is any indicator. For the uninitiated, former English footballer David Beckham and former SPICE girl Victoria Beckham’s eldest child, Brooklyn, has made some shocking revelations. In a series of stories posted on his Instagram, Brooklyn laid bare family secrets that have caused rifts. And it is no different than a desi saas-bahu daily soap drama of the 2000s.
The 26-year-old model announced he has no wish to reconcile with his family and is “standing up” for himself “for the first time” in his life.
“My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped,” claimed Brooklyn, who married model and heiress Nicola Peltz in April 2022.
All this sounds painfully familiar to the partners of desi “mumma’s boys” who marry for love. Indian mothers are often known to coddle their raja beta so much that they cannot bear to share them with their daughters-in-law. Western countries are often seen as embodying a more relaxed, liberal lifestyle, where parents step back very early and children move out to live independently.
The Beckhams, however, seem to abide by different rules. It is almost like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2002), except it is the mother (Victoria Beckham) who is going the Yashwardhan Raichand route.
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Real-life Rahul Raichand
Desi families are known for keeping conflict behind closed doors, maintaining appearances even if they have just fought moments earlier. The Beckhams seem cut from the same cloth. Although tensions reportedly began in 2022, a family photo—including Peltz—was shared on Christmas Day 2024. It was giving Hum Saath Saath Hai (1999) vibes, before the cracks became visible.
After a brief appearance in the Netflix docuseries Beckham, Brooklyn was notably absent from the 2025 docuseries on Victoria Beckham. Anyone watching it might assume the couple only has three children.
It is a classic desi move too—remember Rahul Raichand (SRK) was removed from the family conversations, business and even festivals in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham? Bagawat or rebellion, especially by a beloved son for his partner, is a blasphemy in India. And clearly for Beckhams too.
The only real innovation is involving lawyers to communicate among the ‘warring’ parties. In desi families, we usually rely on mutual friends or other relatives—but in wealthier families, lawyers do sometimes make an appearance.
When Brooklyn writes, “The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life,” it strikes an eerily familiar chord for desi kids.
People online may be comparing Brooklyn to Prince Harry, who also famously ditched his royal family for his wife, Meghan Markle. And that is typical English behaviour—claiming desi spaces as their own.
Desis have invented raja betas and saasu mas who scheme against bahus. And Brooklyn is just a real-life example of someone brave enough to call his parents out.
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(Edited by Ratan Priya)