168: How Expectations of Mother of the Bride/Groom Are Evolving in 2026

This is a topic I've actually had on my list to talk about for about four months now. Recently, the story about Brooklyn Beckham and his mum, Victoria Beckham, hit the headlines, and the internet just went wild.

Brooklyn said in an interview that he and his wife, Nicola, felt uncomfortable and embarrassed by some of his mum's behaviour at their wedding three years ago. And then, chaos.

It wasn't just a gossip moment. It tapped into something deeply familiar. Because these sorts of tensions happen in regular families all the time, just without the never-ending memes.

It made me think: maybe there's never been a better time to talk about why this topic hits people so hard, and how the expectations of mothers in weddings have shifted so, so far from what they used to be.

RESOURCES

1800 RESPECT: https://www.1800respect.org.au/

White Ribbon Australia: https://whiteribbon.org.au/helplines/

Relationships Australia: https://www.relationships.org.au/

(USA) National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/

(UK) Domestic Abuse Support: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help#get-help-and-support

(Canda) Family Violence Support: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/fv-vf/help-aide.html

(NZ) Domestic and Family Violence Support: https://www.govt.nz/browse/law-crime-and-justice/abuse-harassment-domestic-violence/domestic-and-family-violence/

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Unbridely acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we record this podcast on, the Kaurna People. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.