It’s hard to believe – considering how entwined the couple seem to be – but there was a time when Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham weren’t in each others’ lives.
As son of noughties icons Victoria and David, Brooklyn Beckham is considered British pop cultural royalty. Nicola Peltz, who is four years older than her now-husband, is the daughter of businessman Nelson Peltz, who has an estimated wealth of $2.45 billion.
Nepo babies both, with similar interests in photography and shared family values, the couple didn’t cross paths until they were in their late teens and early 20s.
Here’s how they went from strangers, to friends, to one of the world’s most famous couples.
April 2017: Nicola told Tatler in 2022 that her and Brooklyn were introduced to each other by one of her brothers. While the exact timeline is hazy, Glamour and Insider report this first meeting took place at the 2017 Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
At first, they didn’t get along. “We just didn’t click… I had a boyfriend, he had a girlfriend,” Nicola said.
While they stayed in touch, meeting up once to go to dinner, Nicola described him during that time as a “friend but not a close friend”.
Brooklyn later told the Today Show’s Food segment that for him, it was “love at first sight”.
October 2019: Their relationship officially left the friendzone at Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2019 Halloween party, where the two “ran into each other”. She told Cosmopolitan UK that was the first night they’d had a “real conversation”.
The Daily Mail spotted Nicola and Brooklyn leaving the party together that night.
“I can’t tell you what happened but from then on we were inseparable,” Nicola told Tatler.
Brooklyn was 20 and Nicola was 24 when they first got together romantically.
January 2020: After months of speculation, Brooklyn confirmed their relationship by posting a series of loved-up images of the two on his Instagram, captioned with a red heart emoji.
The next day, Nicola posted her own, decidedly raunchier, image. She captioned it with a black heart emoji.
These announcement posts marked the beginning of the Peltz Beckham’s mutual love of photography, and of sharing their life online.
Nicola was forthcoming in acknowledging this passion to Tatler. “Like Brooklyn, I love taking pictures,” she told the magazine.
“We have a film camera and a small Sony digital camera. And I always want to savour every moment, to take pictures of videos so we have all these memories. So we just kind of naturally share them.”
February 2020: The couple attend the Saint Laurent Show during Paris Fashion Week. It’s their first public appearance and they wear matching black outfits.
June 2020: After dating for just eight months, the soon-to-be Peltz Beckhams announce their engagement. Though they both posted the news in July, Brooklyn admits he popped the question two weeks earlier.
“Two weeks ago I asked my soulmate to marry me and she said yes,” he wrote in his post. “I am the luckiest man in the world. I promise to be the best husband and the best daddy one day.”
Nicola posts the same photo to her account, writing, “You’ve made me the luckiest girl in the world. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by your side. Your love is the most precious gift. I love you so so much baby.”
She added a note at the end to acknowledge the all-too-important involvement of Brooklyn’s younger sister: “And thank you Harper for this pic.”
Nicola later told Cosmopolitan UK that Brooklyn had bought the ring three months before he actually proposed. She said he organised for her Florida-based family to fly to New York to celebrate with them.
“He really wanted both of our families to be there when he asked me, but it was so complicated with the border restrictions,” she told the magazine, referring to the pandemic-related restrictions.
“The morning after we got engaged, we flew right to London so that we got to celebrate with his family too.”
October 2020: Brooklyn celebrates their one-year anniversary with a photo of them together in the bathtub.
September 2021: The couple attend their first Met Gala together. Nicola wears a striking pink Valentino gown and Brooklyn wore a black tuxedo.
November 2021: Brooklyn tells HELLO! Magazine that if the pandemic wasn’t an issue, the pair would have been married already.
“We’ve been engaged for a year and if Covid wasn’t a thing we’d have liked to have been married already, and it has been difficult,” he said.
April 2022: Nicola and Brooklyn tie the knot to officially become the Peltz Beckhams.
They hold their ceremony and reception at Nicola’s family estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Peltz Beckham wears Valentino – in a move that later causes speculation of a feud with her mother-in-law, fashion designer Victoria Beckham.
As well as being attended by their influential families, the two welcome stars to their wedding including Gordon Ramsey, Eva Longoria and Serena and Venus Williams, among a number of other high-profile guests.
Both Nicola and Brooklyn change their names to ‘Peltz Beckham’ days after the ceremony – a move that was also reflected in their Instagram handles.
A source told The Sun that Brooklyn decided to add ‘Peltz’ to his middle name of Joseph because he is “head over heels for Nicola. “It’s a huge sign of his commitment to her and his love for her,” they said.
July 2022: Nicola and Brooklyn embark on a luxurious honeymoon in the Cote D’Azur and the Italian Riviera, sailing between stops on a yacht. The pair later tell Conde Nast Traveler that their most memorable moment was watching their favourite show on the top deck.
“One night, after dinner, we came back, got into PJs, and brought our laptop to the top deck of the boat, along with wine and cheese, and spent hours streaming Love Island,” Nicola said.
“It’s one of our favourite things to do together – so being able to do it in the most beautiful setting was magical.”
August 2022: Brooklyn gets the word ‘married’ tattooed on his hand – one of over a reported 70 tattoos he has that are dedicated to Nicola. One includes a life-like portrait of her face.
For her part, Nicola has Brooklyn’s name tattooed on her.
David Beckham gushes over son Brooklyn on his 17th birthday: ‘Not so little anymore, but look at that smile’
November 2022: Brooklyn tells PEOPLE that he is itching to become a father.
“I could have had kids yesterday,” he told the publication. “Obviously it’s my wife’s body, but I’ve always wanted to have a bunch of kids around. That’s something I really want to do. And my dad was young when he had me. He was 23. And I’m 23 now. I’ve always wanted to be a young dad.”
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March 2023: Nicola confirms to Cosmopolitan UK that her and Brooklyn do want kids but she’s not quite ready.
“We need a house first, especially because we have so many puppies. Brooklyn really wants kids now, but I want to do a few more things in my career first,” she said.
She tells the publication they’re considering raising their future children in New York.
