‘Wagatha Christie’: Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy’s court battle continues
Sweet little lies! Coleen Rooney reveals she kept her Wagatha Christie ‘sting’ secret from husband Wayne… and tells £3M libel trial she fibbed to Rebekah Vardy when rival WAG asked why she had ‘unfollowed’ her on Instagram
Coleen Rooney said she carried out ‘sting operation’ and accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking ‘false stories’But Jamie Vardy’s wife denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer’s wife for libelColeen Rooney, married to Wayne Rooney, is defending claim on the basis her post was ‘substantially true’* MailOnline’s liveblog on the ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial can be followed throughout today by clicking HERE *
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Coleen Rooney has admitted lying to Rebekah Vardy after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram, as the bombshell £3million ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel trial continued today.
‘Yes I did lie, it was a cover-up for what I was investigating, I had my suspicions,’ Coleen, 36, told Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC under cross-examination at the High Court in London this morning.
The trial comes after a widely-shared social media post in October 2019, in which Coleen said she had carried out a ‘sting operation’ and accused 40-year-old Rebekah of leaking ‘false stories’ about her private life to the press.
Rebekah, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Coleen is defending the claim on the basis her post was ‘substantially true’.
The court heard today that Coleen unfollowed Rebekah in early 2019 and received a message a month later asking her if Rebekah had ‘done something to offend you.’ The court heard that on March 3 that year, Rebekah sent Coleen a note saying: ‘I saw you had unfollowed me and I wasn’t following you anymore on Instagram…just wanted to ask if I had done something or offended you in anyway? Literally only noticed the other day’.
Coleen admitted she ‘told her a fib’ in her reply, saying she ‘didn’t even know’ – adding that her children used her phone often and she would check to see what happened. In fact, the court was told that she had deliberately unfollowed her because of concerns that stories were being leaked from her account.
The message only increased Coleen’s suspicions, she said. ‘If it was me, I would have just forgotten about it,’ she added. Coleen also said that if it had happened to her, then she ‘wouldn’t be that bothered really’. When Rebekah asked why, Coleen told her she hadn’t realised and thought it might have been her children playing with her phone. The message read: ‘Oh, I didn’t even know, the kids have my phone all the time, they’ve probably done it, let me check.’
Coleen admitted: ‘I did tell her a fib.’ Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Why weren’t you simply honest with her?’ She said: ‘Mrs Vardy never came to me and said it was me, despite the fact I’d given warnings on Instagram, so why should I be honest?’
Coleen said she did not believe Rebekah would ‘tell the truth anyway, even if I confronted her’. Asked whether the best thing to do would have been to warn her this was going on, she asserted that Rebekah had told a ‘lot of lies’.
Crucially, she added that not only did she think it was Rebekah’s account that was leaking stories to The Sun, but also Rebekah herself was aware. ‘I believe she knew all along’, she said.
Coleen continued giving evidence today, having said last Friday that she was glad she ‘put an end’ to Rebekah allegedly leaking other people’s information after her bid to catch the person ‘betraying’ her ‘red-handed’.
Last week Coleen told the trial how her marriage almost fell apart after Rooney was caught drink-driving with a party girl in 2017. Coleen said that in the aftermath of the incident involving former office worker Laura Simpson, she and their children stayed with her parents and she ‘didn’t know how my marriage was going to work out’.
Coleen Rooney (left) and Rebekah Vardy (right) arrive at the High Court today to continue the ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel trial
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Wayne Rooney (left) and Coleen Rooney (right) arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London this morning
Coleen and Wayne Rooney are surrounded by photographers as they arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today
Wayne Rooney and Coleen Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London this morning as the trial continues
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today to continue the ‘Wagatha Christie libel trial
Wayne Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today with his wife Coleen Rooney
This morning, Coleen was accompanied by her husband Wayne Rooney, and she wore a grey jacket and trousers with a black top. The couple stepped out of a silver Mercedes and were met by a crowd of photographers.
Rebekah arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in a black Mercedes moments later. Wearing a yellow jacket and skirt, she walked past the waiting crowd of photographers and journalists and went into the building.
Coleen began giving evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday afternoon and is expected to continue speaking up until this afternoon – with her husband Wayne Rooney due to step into the witness box tomorrow.
Today, Coleen also told the court why she kept her Wagatha Christie probe secret from husband Wayne.
Asked by Mr Tomlinson why she had not told the former England captain she replied: ‘One thing I don’t do is put any troubles or worries on anyone else. I don’t like to put pressure on anyone until I need to. That’s what I’ve always done.’
She added: ‘I wanted to do it for myself without telling anyone. There’s trust and there’s trust. It was quite hard keeping it to myself but I had to do it if I wanted to find out who was doing it to me.’
Describing the ‘sting operation’ in her statement, Coleen said: ‘I wanted to catch the account responsible ‘red-handed’ as it were and so I came up with a plan.’
She revealed how she reinstated Rebekah as a follower then posted messages on Instagram Stories, a feature which allows users to make posts that are only accessible for 24 hours.
Coleen explained users can limit which of their followers they allow to view the post and a ‘Seen By’ function shows which accounts have viewed it.
Coleen went on to post a string of false stories. They included a fake claim that she was going to go through gender selection treatment in Mexico and that a devastating storm had led to their basement being flooded at their £20million Cheshire home.
Rebekah’s account viewed Coleen’s invented stories which ended up featuring in The Sun, it is claimed.
Mr Tomlinson said Coleen had been using ‘lawyers language’ in describing how her sting unfolded in her statement.
She wrote in her statement: ‘For the avoidance of any doubt I did not mention this plan or the content of the sting operation to anyone or discuss it with any person at any time.
‘Nobody knew the detail of what was going on apart from me. It killed me not telling anyone about it but I managed it.’
Coleen was also asked about her publicist Rachel Monk, whom she described as somebody who oversees her media projects, and has ‘worked on and off with me for years now’. She said approaches from the media about stories were typically sent to Monk PR, and later Mark Whittle – both of whom are expected to give evidence later today.
A message was read out from Ms Monk, who was alerting Coleen to a story being pursued by the Sun regarding Coleen finding a babysitter. Coleen was asked if she believed Rebekah was still leaking stories, despite being unfollowed by Coleen shortly beforehand. She said she didn’t know what Rebekah was thinking at the time, but thinks she might have believed she had ‘got away with it’.
‘We were living in America at the time’ of the post, she said, and babysitters wasn’t something she often spoke about. The court heard the request from the Sun came ten days after a private Instagram post about the subject.
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London this morning for the trial to continue
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London this morning for the trial to continue
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today to continue the ‘Wagatha Christie libel trial
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the High Court this morning for day five of the libel trial against Coleen Rooney
Last Friday, Coleen began giving evidence in Court 13. Asked by Rebekah’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC what she set out to achieve with the widely shared post, Coleen replied: ‘I wasn’t achieving anything, what I wanted was to stop the person who was leaking my private information to The Sun.’
Coleen added that she had given out warnings ‘many times’, but ‘it didn’t stop’.
‘This was my last resort,’ she continued. In a witness statement, she outlined her ‘growing sense of suspicion’ that Rebekah’s account might be linked to alleged leaks.
She explained she made two warning posts on social media and temporarily removed Rebekah from her account ‘but nothing had worked’.
Coleen added that she ‘wanted to catch the account responsible ‘red-handed’ as it were and so I came up with a plan’, before outlining her so-called ‘sting operation’ of positing fake stories and limiting access to them to Rebekah’s Instagram account.
She claimed that her concerns ‘went beyond my own posts’, writing: ‘I knew that I could not be the only one whose trust was being abused by the culprit and I now know from having seen the WhatsApp exchanges between Becky and Caroline that Becky was leaking information about a whole range of other people too.
‘I thought whoever was doing this was probably betraying other people in this way too.’
She added: ‘There have been no leaks of posts from my account since. No doubt similar behaviour by Becky was also a real worry for many others too. I am glad I have put an end to it.’
In court on Friday, Mr Tomlinson suggested Coleen had ‘no evidence’ to establish that Rebekah leaked information from her personal Instagram account.
‘I believe that Mrs Vardy knew that this was happening, whether it was Mrs Vardy herself or it was someone she’s given permission to,’ Coleen said.
Mr Tomlinson replied that ‘you might believe that Derby County will win the premiership’, adding: ‘It’s not evidence that they are going to.’
‘No it’s not,’ she replied.
Coleen’s husband, former England footballer Wayne Rooney, is manager of the Derby County football team and was sat metres away from his wife during the hearing.
Before Coleen began her evidence on Friday afternoon, Rebekah entered the witness box for the final day of her evidence, telling the court she felt ‘bullied and manipulated’ while facing cross examination.
Rebekah, who became emotional during her evidence, told the court that she ‘wanted to clear her name’ and had brought the legal action for her children.
Earlier in the trial, TV personality Rebekah was asked about a 2004 interview in the defunct tabloid about a sexual encounter she said she had with singer Peter Andre.
Coleen’s barrister David Sherborne showed what appeared to be an A3 printout of the article to Rebekah in the witness box, before reading the headline: ‘Peter’s hung like a small chipolata, shaved, slobbery, lasts five minutes.’
However, Rebekah previously said that she was ‘forced into a situation by my ex-husband’ to do the interview.
On Friday, Rebekah was asked questions by her barrister, Hugh Tomlinson QC, about the article.
Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Looking back now all these years, nearly 20 years since, can you remember whether the things presented in the article were things you actually said?’
A court artist’s sketch of Coleen Rooney, watched by her husband Wayne, as she gives evidence at court in London last Friday
A court artist’s sketch of Coleen Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne (centre back) questioning Rebekah Vardy (left) as she gives evidence at the Royal Courts Of Justice last Thursday as Coleen (right) and Wayne (second right) Rooney watch
Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy during his side’s Premier League match against Watford at Vicarage Road yesterday
Rebekah replied: ‘There’s a lot of things in there that did not come out of my mouth that were misrepresented in the circumstances around that article I’m deeply sorry for. It’s shameful reading that, and one of my biggest regrets.’
Coleen is defending the libel claim brought by Rebekah on the basis of truth and public interest.
The libel battle comes after Coleen publicly claimed that an account behind three fake stories in The Sun that she had posted on her personal Instagram account was Rebekah’s.
The fake stories Coleen planted on her Instagram during the sting operation featured her travelling to Mexico for a ‘gender selection’ procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home.
In the post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, she wrote: ‘I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. ‘It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
As the toxic feud between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy spilled out in public for a second week, here is a summary of the evidence as it was heard in court:
COLEEN’S TESTIMONY
Rebekah ‘got into a spat with Sarah Harding at National Television Awards after she was caught going through the Girls Aloud singer’s handbag’
Rebekah got into a heated argument with Sarah Harding at the 2018 National Television Awards after the Girls Aloud singer spotted her rifling through her handbag, the High Court heard last week.
The story – which was published in several tabloid newspapers at the time – was mentioned by Coleen Rooney in written documents she submitted to the High Court as part of the £3million Wagatha Christie libel trial.
Coleen claimed: ‘She got in a spat with former Girls Aloud group member Sarah Harding during the 2018 event because Sarah apparently caught Becky taking photographs of the contents of Sarah’s handbag when Sarah had dropped it on the floor.
‘Their dispute subsequently appeared in The Sun.’
Rebekah is said to have ‘come to blows’ with Sarah hours after the 2018 NTAs had been broadcast on ITV.
According to an article published at the time in The Mirror, Sarah accused Rebekah of taking ‘sneaky pictures’ of her, sparking a ‘heated’ row between the pair that caused a ‘huge scene’.
Sources claimed that Sarah had dropped her bag inside the bash, and as she proceeded to pick up her belongings from the floor, she saw a camera flash and I’m A Celebrity star Rebekah standing nearby with her phone in her hand.
It is said the singer saw red and accused mother-of-five Rebekah of taking sly pictures of her while she was scrambling around collecting her things.
The insiders continued that Rebekah, the wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, was left irked by the accusation and insisted that hadn’t been the case, offering to show Sarah her phone, before demanding an apology from the Celebrity Big Brother star.
‘Rebekah couldn’t believe the insinuation and angrily insisted she hadn’t even been using her phone,’ they claimed.
‘A few of their friends had to step in and intervene because they were getting really heated with one another- it caused a huge scene.’
Sarah died on September 5 last year after being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.
Wagatha Christie post was a ‘last resort’
Coleen has claimed that she made her bombshell social media post in October 2019 about carrying out her so-called ‘sting operation’ as a ‘last resort’.
Mr Tomlinson asked her what she wanted to achieve from the post.
‘I wasn’t achieving anything,’ she said, adding: ‘What I wanted was to stop the person who was leaking my private information to The Sun.’ She told the court that she had given out warnings ‘many times’, but ‘it didn’t stop’.
‘I’ve never been friends with Rebekah’: Coleen says she’s ‘never socially interacted’ with rival WAG
Coleen told the hearing that she had never been friends with Rebekah.
Describing their relationship she said: ‘I’ve never had a drink with Mrs Vardy. We’ve never socially interacted. We’ve met on a few occasions at football but we’ve never interacted socially.
‘I’ve never picked the phone up to Rebekah Vardy. The only time I spoke to her on the phone was the day of the post.’
She said the first contact the pair had ever had was when she and her husband were invited to her wedding to Jamie in May 2016.
She said: ‘We couldn’t make it. It was a busy time of the year. I sent a gift and Rebekah replied saying ”thank you”.’
She said she was unable to go as it was a ‘busy Tim’ at the end of the season.
Describing how her investigation began to gain momentum, Coleen said: ‘There were a number of things that added up with the others. I didn’t just pluck it out of thin air.
‘I suspected this person was having a relationship with The Sun so I googled it, looked at past articles and saw the connection between Rebekah Vardy and The Sun.
‘This thing was not just thought of overnight. I did think of it for a long time. As I’ve said I’m not one who just jumps on things.’
She said: ‘I was trying to get more information and put it together with the information I already had. I came up with Rebekah Vardy.
‘There was no other person on my private Instagram who was in a position to give this information to The Sun.’
Coleen wanted to catch the account responsible for leaking her information ‘red-handed’
In her witness statement, Coleen said she had made two warning posts and temporarily removed Rebekah from her account ‘but nothing had worked’.
She continued: ‘I wanted to catch the account responsible ‘red-handed’ as it were and so I came up with a plan.’
Describing her plan, Coleen said: ‘I decided that I would invent and fabricate a story, limit accessibility in such a way so that it was only Becky’s Instagram account that could view it, upload it to Instagram via Instagram Stories for a period of 24 hours so that it was only ‘Seen By’ Becky’s Instagram account and then I would wait and see whether my fabricated/invented story, which had only been seen by Becky’s Instagram account, appeared in The Sun.’
She added: ‘For the avoidance of any doubt, I did not mention this plan or the content of the Sting Operation to anyone or discuss it with any person at any time.
‘Nobody knew the detail of what was going on apart from me. It killed me not telling anyone about it but I managed it.’
I’m surprised by how much interest my Wagatha Christie post caused, Coleen tells the High Court
The WAG said she was ‘surprised’ by ‘how much interest’ her social media post caused.
‘Obviously it was going to get picked up by the media,’ she said, explaining that her life had been covered by the media for the last 20 years ‘no matter how big or small’ something was.
Asked by Hugh Tomlinson QC if she had a ‘large loyal following’ on social media, Coleen replied: ‘I have a large following yes, loyal I’m not too sure about.’
Coleen DENIES making Wagatha Christie post to make Rebekah subject to abuse
Coleen insisted she did not make her 2019 Wagatha Christie post to direct trolls at Rebekah.
It was put to her by Rebekah’s barrister Mr Tomlinson at the High Court this afternoon.
She said: ‘No that’s not my intention at all. I wouldn’t ever, it’s not in my nature to cause abuse or trolling in any way at all.’
When asked if she would have tried to mitigate any abuse with a post, she replied: ‘Maybe I would have liked to have said that but I have never been in a court, I have never been in a legal case before, this is the first time I have gone under instruction of my legal team.’
Coleen ‘removed Rebekah from her private Instagram account AFTER her car crash story was leaked’
Coleen described her decision to remove Rebekah from her private Instagram account after a story about her car being damaged was leaked to The Sun.
In her witness statement, she said: ‘Going through the Instagram accounts of friends and family one by one and assessing whether or not you thought they were responsible for leaking information about you to The Sun was a horrible exercise.’
She added: ‘The leaks were consistent and they were coming from my own private Instagram account, as opposed to just wider information about my life, and therefore there was a relatively limited pool of possible suspects.
‘I came to the conclusion that the account responsible clearly had a relationship with The Sun and its journalists because it was only The Sun that was printing the ‘exclusive’ articles based upon information from my private Instagram account.’
Coleen blasts ‘sickening’ message between Rebekah and her agent referencing her dead sister
Coleen said a message between Rebekah and her agent referencing her dead sister ‘knocked me sick’ when it was disclosed.
Coleen wrote in her witness statement: ‘While they were discussing her messaging me in order to cover her tracks, Becky says to Caroline Watt ‘maybe I should say something about Rosie’.
‘Rosie is a reference to my sister who suffered with Rett Syndrome and passed away in 2013 at the age of just 14.
‘The mere fact that Becky would suggest seeking to use Rosie’s name in conversation with me in order to put me off the scent of suspecting Becky as the person responsible for leaking my private information to The Sun is really low and sad.
‘It actually knocked me sick when I read that message from Becky to Caroline.’
Rebekah would ‘regularly’ message Coleen when there was press coverage about the WAG, court hears
Rebekah would ‘regularly’ message Coleen when there was press coverage about Wayne Rooney’s wife, the High Court has heard.
Saying Rebekah was ‘not in my circle’, Coleen said: ‘I felt like when she contacted me it was to try and get information out of me.’
Rebekah’s messages to her came ‘when something not nice was going on in my personal life’, Coleen claimed.
She said Rebekah’s messages were ‘generally nice’, but added that ‘towards the end its was a bit unusual’.
‘Someone who was not that close to me… constantly checking in with me all the time,’ Coleen said.
Coleen ‘offered an olive branch’ to Rebekah but it was ‘in vain’
Coleen told how she offered ‘an olive branch’ to Rebekah in a bid to end their bitter public despite in the wake of her ‘Wagatha Christie’ revelations.
Coleen, 36, said she made three attempts to bring their legal battle to a close as she believed it would ‘benefit neither Becky nor myself’.
But she said her efforts had all been ‘in vain’.
In a written statement submitted to the court she said: ‘I would like to highlight at the outset of this witness statement that I have sought to resolve this matter amicably on various occasions because I was of the view that the time, money, resources and efforts involved could be better spent elsewhere – particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She told how she made three separate attempts to call a truce, the first in May 2020 before proceedings were issued.
Coleen tried again after filing legal documents in October 2020 then made a further attempt in January 2021.
But she said: ‘The efforts I made were in vain.’
She added: ‘I have no doubt that this litigation, whatever the outcome, will benefit neither Becky nor myself.
Coleen continued: ‘I should, however, highlight that those attempts to compromise this dispute were not made due to any concern with the underlying merits or an absence of confidence in my position.
‘I was seeking to be pragmatic and to consider the bigger picture in order to enable both parties to move on with our respective lives – essentially an olive branch if you will.
‘I have always been confident in the truth of what I posted on October 9 2019.
She said Rebekah’s WhatsApp conversations with her agent Caroline Watt, had ‘only further reinforced my view on that’.
Rebekah ‘leaked details of Wayne Rooney’s marital woes after he was caught drink-driving with a woman he met in a bar’
Rebekah leaked details of Wayne being caught drink driving with a woman he had met in a bar, Coleen said in court documents.
The former England star’s wife told how she was left ‘really hurt’ after details of how she had moved out of the family home with her sons in the wake of the incident were made public. She said she felt ‘as though someone that I trusted was betraying me at a very difficult time.’
Coleen posted a picture of herself with her sons on her private Instagram account after her husband was pulled over by police as he drove home with single mother Laura Simpson.
The following day The Sun newspaper published an article which said Coleen had ‘dropped a heavy hint that she would keep the kids with her if she and Wayne do split’.
It revealed how Coleen ‘uploaded two poignant photos of the boys on her Instagram account and wrote: ‘No matter where I am they always follow me, and I hope that lasts forever’.’
Rebekah ‘was ‘fishing’ for information as she checked in on Coleen after Wayne’s marital woes leak’, court hears
Rebekah allegedly ‘fished’ for information after the Rooneys’ marital woes were leaked, the High Court has heard.
In her written statement, Coleen told how Rebekah exchanged WhatsApp posts with Rebekah over the next two days ‘in which she checked in on how I was doing and even offered for me to stay at her house if I wanted to get away from things’.
Coleen said: ‘On the face of things, this was obviously a nice gesture, but I did think at the time that it was a bit over the top because Becky and I weren’t particularly close friends.’
Coleen told how she believes Rebekah had been ‘fishing for information’ in previous exchanges between them. She said there had been discussions between the pair from August 2016 to February 2017 ‘in which she would directly ask me about topics involving me that had been mentioned in the press.
Coleen said: ‘For instance, she asked me about an attempted burglary at my house, about a potential midwife documentary and about my house build. At the time I just thought she was trying to be friendly but was a bit too keen.
‘In hindsight, I do wonder whether her messages – and indeed all of the messages that she sent to me subsequently were just fishing for information to pass to the media.’
News story about Wayne’s drink-driving ‘quoted Coleen’s Instagram caption word-for-word’
Coleen said in her witness statement: ‘No other content had been uploaded to my social media platforms about the incident and I hadn’t mentioned the Marriage Post to anybody else.
‘It was obvious to me that a follower on my private Instagram account had leaked the Marriage Post to The Sun and that the source of the marriage article was the Marriage Post.’
Coleen continued: ‘There was so much going on at that time that I didn’t take any action or do anything about the leak but I definitely took note of it and was really hurt by it, particularly because I felt as though someone that I trusted was betraying me at a very difficult time.’
‘I split from Wayne’, Coleen admits for the first time
Coleen admitted for the first time that she split from husband Wayne and feared her marriage was over after he was caught drink-driving with party girl Laura Simpson in 2017.
Her sensational disclosure came as she discussed ‘the pyjama post’ which she shared at the end of 2017. It was an image of her and three of her children (she was pregnant with her fourth child at the time) wearing matching polka dot pyjamas in the family bed.
But on her private account she shared another image showing husband Wayne in the bed.
She explained when she saw a story she believed was based on the post, it upset her.
‘I was in a vulnerable situation –there had been some wrongdoing by my husband.
‘I was spending a lot of time at my parents’ house. I didn’t know how my marriage was going to work out.
‘Me and Wayne were trying to figure out our relationship and where we were going.
‘But I didn’t want the public to know that – I know how quick the papers are to jump onto things.
‘I hadn’t settled on: ‘this is it, we are getting back together’
She also said that when she and Wayne moved to the US she was homesick and ‘cried every night and couldn’t do Facetime with my parents – it was horrific.’
She added it was the first time she had moved ‘more than 45 minutes up the road’ from her family and said her parents had both helped her enormously bringing up her children.
Leaks ‘strained Coleen’S relationships with fellow WAGs and ‘those close to me who thought that I suspected them as potentially being responsible”
Leaks about Coleen’s life ‘strained her relationships with fellow WAGs and ‘those close to me who thought that I suspected them as potentially being responsible”, the court has heard.
In her written statement, Coleen wrote: ‘I would get people coming up to me to say things like ‘I hope you know that it isn’t me’ or ‘I hope you know that I would never do that to you’.
‘It was horrible having friends think that they were under the microscope and needed to explain themselves. I recall having such conversations with close friends who I have known for years.
‘No doubt there would be countless others who felt in a similar position but were too embarrassed to bring it up with me direct. ‘
She said Shauna Muamba – the wife of former Premier League player Fabrice Muamba – who she described as ‘a friend who I have known for years’ messaged her because ‘she she was worried that I suspected it was her.’
I have always been confident in the truth of my Wagatha Christie post, Coleen says
Coleen said she has ‘always been confident in the truth’ of her viral post accusing Rebekah Vardy of leaking her private information to The Sun.
She wrote in her witness statement: ‘I have always been confident in the truth of what I posted on October 9 2019 and the documentation which Becky has disclosed as part of these proceedings, in particular her WhatsApp conversations with her agent Caroline Watt, has only further reinforced my view on that.’
Coleen continued: ‘Friends and family are the most important to me and it was messing with my head that someone who I trusted was doing this to me. It annoyed and hurt me.
‘It even messed with my friends and family because they felt like I suspected them of being responsible.’
Rebekah’s alleged Secret Wag column ended ‘abruptly’ after bombshell Wagatha Christie post
Rebekah’s alleged Secret Wag column ended ‘abruptly’ after Coleen made her bombshell Wagatha Christie post in October 2019, the High Court.
In her written statement, Coleen claimed: ‘Following the post, the Secret WAG column only released a further three articles – two of which had no doubt already been prepared prior to my post – and came to an abrupt end.
‘One was about footballer manager Jose Mourinho, another was about Georgina Cleverley and one was about my dispute with Becky.
‘The Secret WAG article about my dispute with Becky began with the wording ‘OMG! HOW could she!!?? Coleen Rooney has created the biggest WAG fallout since Nicola McLean whipped off her 32FF superbra’.’
I’m glad no one else now has to worry about ‘Becky’ leaking stories to the Press, says Coleen
Coleen has said she is glad she has ‘put an end’ to the leaking of information she alleges Rebekah Vardy carried out.
In her witness statement, she wrote: ‘I should add that my concerns went beyond my own posts.
‘I knew that I could not be the only one whose trust was being abused by the culprit and I now know from having seen the WhatsApp exchanges between Becky and Caroline that Becky was leaking information about a whole range of other people too.
‘I thought whoever was doing this was probably betraying other people in this way too.’
Coleen added: ‘There have been no leaks of posts from my account since. No doubt similar behaviour by Becky was also a real worry for many others too. I am glad I have put an end to it.’
I can’t always be sure the other WAGs who follow my private Instagram account won’t leak stories to the media, says Coleen
Coleen told the High Court that she can’t always be sure the other WAGs who follow her private Instagram account won’t leak stories to the Press.
Mr Tomlinson highlighted that the more than 300 followers of Coleen’s private account included WAGs as well as family and friends.
Coleen said of the account: ‘When I’ve accepted people on to the account I’ve accepted them because I do have trust in them. But this whole process has proved that it can’t always be true.’
Mr Tomlinson said: ‘You hope and expect that people who have access to your private Instagram account will keep its contents away from the press but you can’t guarantee it.’
‘No,’ Coleen said.
‘You can’t be sure,’ Mr Tomlinson added, with Coleen replying: ‘No you can’t.’
Jamie Vardy’s wife ‘deliberately sat behind Coleen Rooney at Euros 2016 football game to boost her fame’
Rebekah ‘deliberately sat behind Coleen Rooney at Euros 2016 football game to boost her fame’, London’s High Court has heard.
In her witness statement, Coleen described the incident where there was ‘a commotion’ during the match in France after she claimed Rebekah moved seats to ensure she was sitting behind her.
She said husband Wayne’s agent Paul Stretford ‘mentioned to me in passing after the game that there had been some commotion because Becky had decided to sit in different seats to those allocated to her and the seats which she had decided to sit in were directly behind me’.
Coleen said: ‘In the days following the game there were photos of me and Becky watching the game.
‘Becky then mentioned me in her column in her Euro 2016 diary for The Sun. I believe that the reason for this was that Becky deliberately sat herself behind me, even though they were not her allocated seats, to try and guarantee her appearance in the media and I recall subsequently speaking to one of the FA staff about the matter sometime later and she confirmed that to be the case.
‘I recall Becky trying to smooth things over on WhatsApp with me following Euro 2016 but this incident had stuck in my mind.’
Rebekah ‘always stuck out as someone who wanted to be famous’ and ‘was trying too hard to be friendly with me’, Coleen tells court
Coleen has described Rebekah as fame-hungry and ‘tried too hard’ to be friends with the fellow footballer’s wife.
In court documents, Coleen said of Jamie Vardy’s wife: ‘Because of her extensive appearances in the tabloid press, her column in The Sun during Euro 2016 and her appearance on ‘I’m A Celebrity’ whilst still relatively unknown, Becky certainly stuck out to me as being someone who actively wanted to be famous.
‘Becky and I had never had an issue with one another, as far as I was aware.
‘We got on fine, but I did gradually feel like she was very keen to be friendly with me and she was trying too hard and it was a bit too much.
‘To this day, the only time I spoke to Becky on the phone was after the post on October 9 2019 and we have never met up just the two of us or anything like that, although we have been at some football games, or football-related events, as part of a bigger group.’
WAGs ‘commonly stage paparazzi shots in order to be in the limelight’
Coleen says WAGs ‘commonly stage paparazzi shots with agencies’ in order to be in the ‘limelight’.
The claim comes after Rebekah and her publicist Caroline Watt were accused of secretly organising a paparazzi photo with fellow WAGs outside a restaurant in Russia during the 2018 World Cup.
In her witness statement, Coleen said: ‘I have been involved in football circles for around 20 years.
‘I’ve come across different types of footballers’ partners, some of them enjoy and seek the limelight and work on it, others get brought into it because of the high-profile nature of their partner.
‘I know from my experience in the media that a common tactic of those who want to be famous is that they will stage paparazzi shots with agencies.
Those shots will then be sold to the tabloid press and the individual in question will split the monies earned from the tabloid press with the paparazzi agent or they will get other benefits such as being able to help control their image in the press.’
Wayne Rooney’s mother messaged Coleen ‘because press had been knocking at their house to see whether they had any comment about Becky leaking stories about me’
Wayne Rooney’s mother Jeanette messaged Coleen ‘because press had been knocking at their house to see whether they had any comment about Becky leaking stories about me’, the court has heard.
Coleen said: ‘Jeanette explained that she had no idea what was going on because she didn’t know anything about Becky leaking information about me.
‘I told Jeanette that it had been going for ages but I hadn’t been able to say anything previously because I had been trying to catch out the person responsible.’
Rooneys’ attempts to patch things up after the drink-driving arrest were also made public, court hears
Coleen and Wayne Rooney’s attempts to patch things up after the drink-driving arrest were also made public, the High Court has heard.
An article in The Sun claimed Rooney has been forgiven for his night out with Laura Simpson after being ‘allowed back into the marital bed by Coleen’.
The article on November 1, 2017 told how ‘the shamed footballer has been reunited with wife for the first time at home.’
It said Coleen had shown a photo to friends of Wayne cuddling up to their three sons Kai, Klay and Kit and wearing matching pyjamas as the family celebrated Halloween together.
Coleen published the image on her private Instagram account but only showed one of herself and her sons on her public account.
Coleen wrote in her statement to the court: ‘Whilst I was comfortable enough to upload the photograph of Wayne to my private Instagram account, I made a conscious decision not to upload the photograph with him in to my Twitter account or to my public Instagram account because of the difficulties between us at the time.’
Coleen told how she was ‘really shocked and disappointed’ that there had been another leak from her private Instagram account.
She said that in response she took a screenshot of a section of the article with the caption: ‘The GRASS strikes again!!!….I put that picture on wondering if it would appear in that HORRIBLE newspaper …Your accepted as one of my friends if you really needed the money that bad you could have always just asked instead of being SLY!!!’.
Rebekah tried to convince Coleen journalists had hacked her private Instagram account, court hears
Rebekah tried to convince Coleen that journalists had hacked her private Instagram account, according to court documents.
In her written statement, Coleen described a WhatsApp exchange with Rebekah which she said was ‘peculiar’.
It began when Rebekah sent her a message at 2.36pm saying: ‘Omg wtf is wrong with people! Why have they taken that one of you and the kids and not of wayne in bed! That would have been an even better story in their eyes… d***heads! Hope you are OK’.
Rebekah then said: ‘That is so bad! And The Sun of all people as well! Have you been through all your followers? No one with any celeb mag links? What about being hacked? I would be chomping if that was me! Not on at all’.
Coleen replied: ‘Yeh been through all but can’t remember in point anyone. Got a few people onto it trying to source but if there getting the info there not going to tell. Had things like this in the past and never got to find out.’
Rebekah texted: ‘Yeah that’s true! You don’t think the paper has hacked your account do you?’
Coleen said: ‘No very much doubt it’.
REBEKAH’S TESTIMONY
Rebekah discussed Coleen’s private Instagram account with her agent ‘a handful of times’
Rebekah insisted that she only discussed Coleen’s private Instagram account with her agent Caroline Watt ‘a handful of times’.
Rebekah explained that the publicist had access to her own Instagram account password from 2017 when the TV personality appeared on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!
Under questioning from her barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC, Jamie Vardy’s wife said she ‘didn’t give it a second thought’ that Ms Watt was able to see Coleen’s private Instagram account.
Asked if she was told by Ms Watt that she was looking at Coleen’s account, Rebekah said: ‘No she didn’t’, adding that it ‘was not even on my radar’ when asked if knew Ms Watt was ‘monitoring’ Coleen’s account.
WAG texted ‘FFS’ message to footballer Danny Drinkwater after his drink-drive crash before leaking the story
Rebekah admitted plotting to leaking information about Danny Drinkwater’s drink-drive arrest to the media and sent the footballer a ‘FFS’ message after his 2019 car crash, the High Court heard.
Rebekah told her publicist Caroline Watt that she ‘wanted paying’ for information about the former Leicester City player leaving police custody after his arrest. Earlier in the case she denied she actually wanted money for the tip.
Drinkwater was banned from driving for 20 months and ordered to complete 70 hours of community service after pleading guilty to drink driving.
Rebekah told her lawyer Mr Tomlinson that she sent Drinkwater a private message on Instagram asking: ‘What have you done FFS Danny?’.
The acronym ‘FFS’ stands for ‘For F**k Sake’ – and earlier this week the court heard Rebekah explain this to Coleen’s lawyer David Sherborne.
Rebekah has also denied asking Drinkwater for his address so she could send paparazzi photographers and reporters around to his home.
Rebekah calls her Peter Andre ‘chipolata’ 2004 kiss-and-tell interview ‘one of my biggest regrets’
Rebekah has apologised to Peter Andre and his wife for her infamous comments about his ‘chipolata’ manhood, the High Court heard.
The WAG’s barrister asked her about the comments – made in a kiss and tell story in the News of the World in 2004 – as the trial got underway.
Asked whether the quotes in the article were all from her, Rebekah replied: ‘There are a lot of things in there which didn’t come out of my mouth.’
She said of the article – which compared Andre’s manhood to a ‘small chipolata, shaved, slobbery, lasts five minutes’: ‘It’s shameful really, one of my biggest regrets.’
Rebekah said she was ‘very young at the time’.
When asked if she has spoken to Andre about it since, she said: ‘I haven’t spoken to him but I sent both his wife and him personal messages a couple of years ago.’
Mysterious Girl singer Andre has since spoken out about the claim, insisting his ‘acorn’ has ‘grown into an oak’.
‘I wasn’t’: Rebekah DENIES telling her agent to leak Coleen Rooney’s car crash to the media
The WAG was also questioned about whether she conspired with her agent to leak a story about Coleen crashing her car in Washington DC to the media after spotting it on her private Instagram.
The High Court has heard how Ms Watt texted Rebekah admitting that she had given information about Coleen’s crash in Washington DC to The Sun newspaper.
Rebekah said it ‘appeared’ that Ms Watt was the source of the story, but said she didn’t reply to her text because she was too engrossed watching Gemma Collins’ Dancing On Ice ‘faceplant’.
Then Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Were you instructing Caroline Watt to go into the Instagram to obtain information to leak to The Sun?’
Rebekah replied: ‘No, I wasn’t’.
‘I don’t know’: Rebekah suggests she didn’t know what her agent was implying when she said ‘it’s on her private Instagram so we can’t do anything with it’
Rebekah was questioned in relation to a WhatsApp exchange with Ms Watt in which they discussed Coleen’s child allegedly not wearing a seat belt in a photo from Coleen’s private Instagram.
Mr Tomlinson said that, in a text, Ms Watt said: ‘It’s on the private Instagram so can’t do anything with it.’
He asked Rebekah what she understood Ms Watt to be saying at this point.
‘I don’t know, I didn’t really give it much consideration or much thought,’ Mrs Vardy replied, adding: ‘I was probably doing the school run myself at that time.’
Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Did you think that Caroline was leaking stories from Coleen’s private Instagram account?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ she said.
Wayne Rooney told Rebekah a newspaper story claiming he wanted her to keep a lower profile was a ‘load of b*******’
A 2016 story claiming Wayne Rooney wanted Rebekah to keep a lower profile was described by the footballer as ‘a load of bollocks’, the High Court heard.
The story in the Independent claimed that then England captain told Jamie Vardy his wife was getting too much publicity and it was affecting team morale.
But Rebekah told the court: ‘Jamie was quite angry [about the story] that conversation never took place.
‘I had a conversation with Mr Rooney on Facetime about it and he said it was a load of b*******.’
She added: ‘I thought the media was trying to cause problems and stir up trouble, creating a drama and problems where they didn’t exist.’
Rebekah says she was scared she could lose her baby after Coleen’s ‘social media sting’ post
Rebekah told the court she was scared she was going to lose her baby in the days following Coleen’s bombshell Wagatha post.
She was seven months pregnant at the time, and was asked by her solicitors to export her WhatsApp messages onto her laptop on October 15, 2019, just six days after the post.
Asked to describe her state of mind at the time, she sobbed as she said: ‘Constant anxiety, panic attacks, and I was scared I was going to lose my baby.’
She denied deliberately deleting the information which the court has heard was lost during the export.
WAG denies deleting her WhatsApp messages to get rid of evidence
Rebekah has denied ever purposefully deleting her WhatsApp messages.
The court previously heard swathes of messages were unavailable because they had been accidently wiped, while others did not show images, video, or audio they contained.
Mr Tomlinson asked: ‘Have you at any stage deliberately deleted anything from your WhatsApp messages?’
‘No, never’, she replied.
Moments earlier she spoke of her emotional state at the time she was exporting her messages, during which she claims many were inadvertently deleted.
She said: ‘I wasn’t very well, I was having constant panic attacks, anxiety, I was scared I was going to lose my baby.’
‘I feel like I’ve been bullied and manipulated’: Rebekah slams barrister David Sherborne after ‘exhausting’ cross-examination
As Rebekah’s lawyer closed her case, Mr Tomlinson asked her how she had found the experience of being cross-examined by Mr Sherborne.
‘Exhausting, intimidating – I feel like I’ve been bullied and manipulated,’ she said through tears.
He asked her why she had continued with the case and again she became emotional as she said: I wanted to clear my name, not just for me, but for my family and my children.’
‘Why has Coleen Rooney got whiskers on her chinny, chin, chin?’: Latest Wagatha Christie court sketches sees Wayne’s wife likened to ‘poor old’ Michael Finnegan from nursery rhyme… and Rebekah Vardy accused of being a Star Trek ‘Romulan spy’
If the foul-mouthed Whatsapp messages, mystery celebrity affairs and ‘chipolata’ manhood references weren’t enough to keep us entertained, the court sketch artists at the Wagatha Christie trial would certainly do the job.
Social media users have again been left in stitches at the rather unique drawings, which depict WAG rivals Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney – and her husband and former England captain Wayne – as they fight the ‘libel trial of the century’ at London’s High Court.
While Coleen was seen this week ‘furiously taking notes’ as Rebekah was quizzed in the witness box, the court sketch artists were also rapidly putting pen – or rather pencil – to paper.
Last Friday, spectators noticed Coleen seemed to have been depicted sporting a new facial feature.
‘Why has Coleen Rooney got whiskers on her chinny chin chin, in the courts artists sketch?’ one wrote on Twitter, ‘Obviously taking ‘cat scrap’ literally!’
One user compared her to Michael Finnegan, the fictional character from the nursery rhyme, who ‘grew whiskers on his chin-igan’ before the ‘wind came up and blew them in-again’.
Coleen seemed to have been depicted sporting a new facial feature in a court artist’s sketch from the Wagatha Christie trial on Friday. ‘Why has Coleen Rooney got whiskers on her chinny chin chin, in the courts artists sketch?’ one wrote Twitter user
Coleen Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne (centre back) questioning Rebekah Vardy (left) as she gives evidence at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as Coleen (right) and Wayne (second right) Rooney watch on
A court sketch showing Rebekah Vardy (middle) appearing in the witness box in front of the Rooneys, with Wayne (third from right) unable to look at her. One social media user said Rebekah Vardy seemed to become a ‘different person’ in every court sketch, with ‘varying height’ and ‘cheek bones’. (Sketch from May 11)
One court sketch showed Coleen taking notes with her Chanel bag in full view, while Wayne sat next to her staring straight ahead. A twitter user joked: ‘Do Chanel now pay for product placement in court sketches?’
Coleen was branded Michael Finnegan (right) for the sketch which appeared to give her chin hairs, while Rebekah’s exaggerated features saw one spectator say she looked like Romulan Spy from Star Trek (left)
Artist impression of Coleen and Wayne Rooney at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. May 13, 2022.
Court sketch drama: Fans following the case have played equally close attention to the drawings emerging from inside court. Coleen is watched in this sketch by husband Wayne as she gives evidence on Friday.
Another noticed how Rebekah seemed to be evolving with every drawing.
They jibed: ‘I don’t know who has been drawing Rebekah Vardy at the Wagatha Christie trial… but she be a different person of varying height cheek bones every time.’
Another user commented below the post, saying Mrs Vardy looked like Romulan Spy from the iconic sci-fi series Star Trek.
One court sketch showed Coleen taking notes with her Chanel bag in full view, while Wayne sat next to her staring straight ahead.
A Twitter user joked: ‘Do Chanel now pay for product placement in court sketches?’
Referencing their apparent likeness to video game characters, another jibed: ‘Looking forward to catching up on the trial of Zanglef and Chun-Li from street fighter today.’
Others branded the sketches ‘priceless’ while one said they looked like they had been drawn on an Etch a Sketch.
Under current laws and in almost every circumstance, it is illegal to take photographs and video inside courts, meaning news organisations often commission artists to make court sketches.
Social media users mock the court sketch artists’ work at the Wagatha Christie trial, after Coleen appeared to have grown chin hairs while Rebekah Vardy boasted exaggerated cheek bones
The artists are highly skilled and face a difficult task, because they are only allowed a few minutes to make a series of base lines.
They then leave the courtroom, and usually sit in the foyer of the court, where they expand on their marker lines purely from memory.
Court artists also have to work at pace, with the images often needed or finished within an hour or less. But this often results in rather unusual depictions.
Last week, commenters on Twitter likened one portrait of the Rooneys to medieval art from the 1400s.
Mike Peters said: ‘Thanks to the court artist for allowing us to imagine what it would look like if the Rooneys were at Agincourt.’
He was referencing a battle between the English and French in 1415, which was heavily depicted through paintings.
The image of Rebekah does not have the same white, highlighted gleam as others, instead showing her crying into a tissue. Pictured, the court sketch from May 12
Another compared an image of the football manager to the restoration of a Spanish fresco of Jesus, now referred to as ‘Monkey Christ’, by Cecilia Jimenez
Rebekah Vardy broke down in tears this week when Coleen Rooney ‘s lawyer brought up how Twitter trolls had once threatened to rape her two-year-old daughter
A court sketch from earlier this week showing Rebekah Vardy (left) appearing in the witness box in front of the Rooneys, with Wayne (middle) unable to look at her
At around 3.50pm on the first day of the trial, Rebekah Vardy finally took to the witness box. Whereas before, she had looked towards the judge, Coleen now turned her star up at Rebekah as she was sworn in, and rarely did her focus shift from the woman now dubbed her ‘enemy’ in the war of the WAGs. (Pictured: Artist impression of Rebekah Vardy giving evidence (L) with Wayne & Coleen Rooney looking on (R) at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. May 10, 2022)
The atmosphere on day one across the front bench in the well of Court 13 at the High Court was icy, to say the least. Pictured: Artist impression of Rebekah Vardy (far right) and Wayne and Coleen Rooney (left) at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, May 10, 2022.
Rebekah Vardy (left) takes to the stand and swears on the Bible before being quizzed by Coleen’s barrister David Sherborne (in the whig). Wayne and Coleen Rooney are seen watching on in this artist’s impression. It was the first time they looked at her since she had entered the court room hours earlier. (sketch from May 10)
Artist impression of Rebekah Vardy (right) and Mrs Justice Steyne (left) at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. May 11, 2022.
On day one of the trial, Coleen, looking smart in blue blazer and trousers, her hair tied back, maintained a steady, steely gaze ahead, and never more so when the moment came at 3.50pm for Rebekah to enter the witness box, after sidling right past Wayne and Coleen to get there. (Pictured: Court sketch of Wayne Rooney and Coleen, far left, and Rebekah Vardy far right, sitting near to each other in the front row at court prior to Vardy giving evidence)
Other sketches from the trial have also been mocked, with people suggesting that both Rebekah Vardy and Wayne Rooney ‘aren’t happy’ with the way they have been depicted.
Charlotte Johnson said on Twitter: ‘I keep seeing random things on Twitter about Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, not even interested in this nonsense, but I applaud the sketch artist in court for getting Michael Jackson pretty much bang on.’
Others focused on the portrayal of Wayne Rooney, with one likening his image to American professional wrestler, Brock Lesnar.
Another compared an earlier court sketch of the football manager, 36, to the infamous botched restoration of a Spanish fresco of Jesus Christ, now referred to as ‘Monkey Christ’, by Cecilia Jimenez.
The former Manchester United star and current Derby County manager, was compared to a heavyweight boxer in one image, as one fan wrote: ‘Tyson Fury will be furious.’
Another said: ‘That’s taken artistic liberty too the extreme.’ And one Twitter user simply described the person in the snap in one word: ‘Potato!’
Another joked: ‘This court sketch of Wayne Rooney has finished me.’
