This is the REAL reason why Brooklyn Beckham blocked his parents on Instagram. Insiders tell ALISON BOSHOFF the devastating truth about just how bad relations have got, and Posh’s unflattering nickname for her daughter-in-law

In today’s social media-dominated world, if there’s a more serious snub than following someone on an app like Instagram, it’s blocking that person.

And the increasingly bitter Beckham family feud over the weekend gave us both options.

First came the allegation that David and Victoria had unfollowed their eldest son, Brooklyn, on social networking platform Instagram, which has more than three billion active users.

This sparked an angry response from Posh and Becks’ youngest son Cruz, 20. Cruz wrote on Instagram: ‘Mom and Dad never unfollow their son [as reports had suggested]. They woke up blocked. So am I.’

Why would Brooklyn, a sensitive and emotional young man, do such a thing? And on the Christmas of all time? Nothing could be so calculated as to seriously upset his parents.

To understand the answers, we need to put the latest debate into context.

As the whole world knows, there have been problems in the Beckhams’ paradise ever since Brooklyn (26) met Nicola Peltz, 30, an aspiring American actress and daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz.

Things went nuclear when Nicola accepted Brooklyn’s marriage proposal. I gave notice of the first drop by June 2022.

Nicola was mortally offended when Victoria failed to deliver the materials despite promising to design her wedding dress.

But even worse was following him. On their wedding day in April 2022, Jennifer Lopez’s ex, pop star Marc Anthony, who is a friend of the Beckhams, described Victoria (not his bride) as the most beautiful woman in the room.

The faux pas apparently reduced the bride and groom to tears, with friends later claiming the Beckhams had ‘ruined’ Brooklyn’s wedding day.

In the months that followed, both sides tried to build bridges. Nicola attended Victoria Beckham’s fashion shows and 50th birthday, but by April this year rising tensions had escalated into something approaching outright war.

When the young couple went to England for David’s 50th birthday celebrations, things became so difficult that they could not attend any of his parties.

From then on, the feud became unbearably public.

Over the summer, the two sides’ briefings and counter-briefings reached fever pitch. Beckham’s side apparently claimed that Peltz, who now goes by the name Nicola Peltz Beckham, was ‘controlling’ Brooklyn and some began referring to her as a ‘hostage’.

The deterioration in relations between Nicola and her mother-in-law in particular is now so toxic that I am told that Victoria, 51, has a rather nasty nickname for Nicola.

When the young couple renewed their wedding vows in August – with the entire Peltz family in attendance but David and Victoria flatly denied it – Brooklyn’s parents made sure it was known that it was the final straw and a ‘kick in the teeth’.

Although Brooklyn did not congratulate his father when he was knighted by the King last month, there appeared to be signs of his desire to move on.

But the latest controversy over the Instagram feud seems to have put an end to hopes of rapprochement. Indeed, Peltz, a friend of the Beckhams, revealed that David and Victoria were asked to cut off contact with Brooklyn and his wife.

Apparently, the young couple finds the Beckhams’ Instagram posts upsetting and concerning. They wake up overnight worried about what might have been published about them.

‘It would really be in the holiday spirit if the Beckhams stepped back and left them alone for now,’ says the friend. ‘The Beckhams started this ‘blocking’ game story earlier this year and are continuing.

Brooklyn with Nicola and her billionaire father Nelson

‘Whether someone follows someone else on Insta or any other platform shouldn’t and shouldn’t be a story. It’s a sad situation, but nothing has changed here.

‘Nicola and Brooklyn have no comment. They just want peace. It would be best for everyone for them [the Beckhams] ‘He should stop communicating, commenting and briefing because it doesn’t do any good.’

In fact, even Cruz’s intervention is considered by Brooklyn and Nicola as another negative briefing. As his friend put it: ‘They demanded that the Beckhams stand down. They just want to be left alone. The Instagram thing is just a media play; Sounds like more manipulation, more gaslighting. This only drives Brooklyn and Nicola further apart.

‘They are disturbed by speculations. They’re trying to take the high road, which is to not react at all and just live their lives.’

At the heart of the matter now are the briefings given over the summer when Nicola and Brooklyn were ordered by the Beckhams. They call these ‘a deliberate misinformation campaign about the most personal things in their lives’.

A source says: ‘There was a long briefing battle over Nicola in the open season. They targeted Nicola and thought they could do it without facing any consequences.

‘You can’t inflict this much pain and damage on two people and then expect to initiate the relationship via a public social media post. The person causing the pain cannot decide when to declare the pain over.

‘If they want to make peace, they must apologize, acknowledge the pain they caused, and make changes to ensure this won’t happen again.’ There seems to be little chance of this happening. The Beckhams have reportedly ‘gave up’ on trying to reconcile with Nicola, but they still hope to reconcile with their son.

Sources ‘close to David and Victoria’ told The Sun the distance was ‘taking its toll’.

‘His absence has really had a negative impact on special occasions, chivalry and now Christmas,’ says the insider.

‘It’s as if the ghost of Brooklyn hangs over their Christmas and New Year. Last year it was all together.

‘The message they send is that the door is always open and he is always welcome.

‘They would love nothing more than seeing Brooklyn at Christmas, leaving the past behind and starting over in 2026.

‘What about Nicola? They stopped trying to win him back. It may never happen, he may never warm up to them again. They’re focusing on Brooklyn for now.’

A source close to Brooklyn and Nicola describes it as ‘quadrupling’ the argument and ‘going full speed ahead in the wrong direction’, adding: ‘He and Nicola are completely united and as strong as ever.’

After all, this harrowing catalog of controversial minor incidents, party no-shows, and public violations of social media etiquette is an all-too-familiar tale of what happens when a family doesn’t get along with its in-laws.