David and Victoria Beckham have been trying to move on from months of pain during a romantic "second honeymoon" in Portofino, the Italian resort where they first fell in love in 1997. However, their ongoing rift with son Brooklyn has cast a shadow over the trip.
A Return to Where It All Began
The couple returned to the same luxury hotel they stayed at almost three decades ago – the Splendido – where rooms cost around £2,000 per night. David, 51, shared a social media video of Victoria at the hotel, writing, "29 years ago we came to Portofino to this hotel before anyone knew we were dating and here we are back again."
Victoria, 52, also posted her own snap of them on a balcony overlooking the sea, which she captioned, "Back in Portofino where we began in 1997." In her 2025 Netflix documentary, she revealed a picture from that original trip and explained it was the first time they'd had some proper alone time. "We'd already fallen in love before then," she said in the series. "But it was definitely the first time that we'd been somewhere so romantic and so private."
Brooklyn's Tattoo Change and Proximity
Despite their efforts to put their misery over Brooklyn behind them, the estrangement grows ever more painful. The 27-year-old showed he has almost entirely covered up a tattoo that once paid tribute to Victoria. A new topless shot he shared on Instagram revealed that the words "mama's boy" have now been replaced by a design believed to depict flowers from his wife Nicola Peltz's wedding bouquet.
While Victoria and David were holidaying in the Med, Brooklyn was staying tantalisingly close by. He and Nicola, 31, were relaxing aboard his godfather Sir Elton John's yacht on the French Riviera – but there was no sign of a reunion between the warring family.
An Unexpected Positive Consequence
Last year, Brooklyn instructed his family to only contact him via his lawyers and to stop posting about him on their social media. The move followed his claims that David and Victoria put their "Brand Beckham" above the family, while he also accused his mum of sabotaging his wedding to Nicola. He alleged that Victoria hijacked a planned dance with his bride and then danced "inappropriately" with him, leaving him "humiliated".
However, the source said that the agonising situation has at least brought one unexpected positive consequence for David and Victoria. "In a strange way, it has brought them closer together, which no one could have predicted. It's almost as if they've fallen in love again, and gone back to a time when things were more simple."
The source added, "The holiday was poignant, and a stark reminder of who they were before fame took over and before they had kids, when it was just the two of them. It was a beautiful reminder, but also tinged with sadness – because they have everything they could ever want, apart from Brooklyn being with them."
Family Time and Summer Activities
While in Portofino, the pair were joined by daughter Harper, 15, who was seen exploring the old town with her superstar parents. As well as shopping at designer boutiques, the trio stopped at a busy café, where Harper tucked into chocolate ice cream and David and Victoria appeared to enjoy glasses of wine and Aperol spritzes.
The family have also spent much of the summer on their £16 million superyacht Seven, with Harper as well as their sons Cruz, 21, and Romeo, 23, plus his girlfriend Kim Turnbull. They were also spotted further south on the Amalfi Coast, where they swapped the yacht for a stay at five-star hotel Borgo Santandrea. Built into the cliffs, rooms there can cost up to £6,000 a night.
According to our source, David has been working harder than ever to cheer up Victoria. They said, "He'd do anything to lift her spirits. He loves to make her laugh, and he'll often be cheeky and playful to distract her from everything that's going on. At the moment they're just biding their time, and they hope that if they keep the door open, Brooklyn will eventually come back to them."
