Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy were the names on everyone’s lips when the “Wagatha Christie” drama kicked off in October 2019.
Rebekah’s Instagram account was a hot topic for days and days after former pal, Coleen, 38, accused someone with access to the WAG’s Instagram of leaking stories about her private life to the media.
After that, things took a more serious turn. Rebekah, 42, launched a £1 million lawsuit in High Court against the WAG.
With Coleen set to soon be on our screens for the new series of I’m A Celebrity, there’s questions over whether she’ll address the scandal in the jungle. Let’s take a look at what happened.
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney drama explained
The WAGs hit headlines in October 2019 after they became embroiled in a public Twitter spat over accusations of ‘leaked stories’.
Coleen, who is married to football manager Wayne Rooney, told her 1.2 million followers that someone using Rebekah’s social media had been leaking information to The Sun.
The WAG spent months wondering who had been allegedly leaking her information before Rebekah raised her suspicions. Coleen chose to turn detective. She changed her Instagram settings so that only a limited number of accounts, including Rebekah’s, could see her stories. The WAG then made up false stories to see if they ended up being picked up by the media, which they were.
However, Rebekah denied having any involvement in this. The WAG sought out substantial damages for the abuse she suffered as a result of the claims that former friend Coleen made against her account.
This has been a burden in my life for a few years now and finally I have got to the bottom of it…… pic.twitter.com/0YqJAoXuK1
— Coleen Rooney (@ColeenRoo) October 9, 2019
Where the name ‘Wagatha Christie’ came from
When WAG Coleen turned detective in 2019 to determine who had been leaking her private Instagram stories, she was quickly dubbed “Wagatha Christie” by Twitter fans.
It didn’t take long before the nickname was trending on social media.
Rebekah and Coleen’s friendship
It is unknown how close the two WAGs previously were. However, both were often seen supporting their husbands on the pitch.
The girls have previously been snapped looking close at different events, including at a UEFA Euro football match in 2016.
The fact that Coleen allowed Rebekah to follow her private Instagram suggests that the two women had some sort of friendship.
‘Wagatha Christie’ timeline
On October 9, 2019, Coleen accused someone with access to Rebekah’s Instagram of ‘leaking’ information about her.
On the same day, Rebekah took to her social media account to deny the leak. However, Coleen’s post went viral and gathered a lot of attention.
On October 10, 2019, The Sun reported that Rebekah had phoned Coleen in tears, begging her to believe that she wasn’t at fault.
On the same day, Rebekah slammed Coleen for encouraging trolls to bully her.
Rebekah asked to see the screenshots that allegedly proved that her account was the only one viewing the leaked Instagram stories.
In 2020, legal proceedings started to take place as Rebekah took action. In May 2020, sources claimed that an arbitration hearing took place via Zoom. During the meeting, lawyers attempted to avoid a court case.
Then, in the same month, Rebekah apparently stated that she wanted a public apology from Coleen.
In June 2020, Rebekah reportedly launched a £1 million libel lawsuit in a move to clear her name.
Look, we tried to sort things out amicably, it just didn’t work.
Coleen was disappointed Rebekah had chosen to go to court.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, Rebekah told then-host Piers Morgan: “Look, we tried to sort things out amicably, it just didn’t work.”
Coleen Rooney and Rekebah Vardy court battle
The pair’s court case came to trial in 2022 after Rebekah sued Coleen for libel. It began in May of that year and went on until late July.
The judge asked for the mobile phones of both Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt to be searched. However, Caroline claimed she had accidentally dropped her phone in the sea during a family holiday in Scotland.
Rebekah’s copy of messages were said to have been lost during a failed backup when her technology expert “forgot the password which he used to encrypt the material”.
Coleen’s lawyer said these were attempts to conceal incriminating evidence.
After weeks of trial, the court came to a verdict. On July 29, the court dismissed Rebekah’s claim on the basis that Coleen’s statements were true.
Rebekah was ordered to pay a substantial amount of Coleen’s legal expenses, estimated to have come to £3 million.
After the trial, Rebekah said she was “extremely sad and disappointed at the decision”. Although Coleen said she was pleased by the verdict, she said the case shouldn’t have gone to court when the money could have been better spent elsewhere.
Read more: Coleen Rooney warned by husband over ’24/7 cameras’ on I’m A Celebrity
The aftermath
In the aftermath, the trial became the subject of Channel 4’s Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama in December 2022.
Then, in October 2023, Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story – a drama doc about the court case telling her side of the story – aired on Disney+. It drops on ITVX this week (November 14).
In November 2024, Coleen was announced in the I’m A Celebrity 2024 line-up. But will she spill more tea in the jungle?
Or, if rumours are to be believed, is Becky heading out to Australia to surprise her nemesis in camp?
Have no doubt, we’ll be watching this space!
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