Rooney clutches cross as she leaves Wagatha Christie trial after day 5
Keeping the faith! Coleen Rooney clutches crucifix and phone displaying family snap as she leaves Wagatha Christie trial with husband Wayne after fifth day of £3M libel war against Rebekah Vardy
- Devout Catholic Coleen Rooney held a chain with a silver cross as she left court earlier this afternoon
- Mrs Rooney, 36, had referred to a string of toxic messages with Rebekah Vardy where she was called a ‘c***’
- ‘She talks about me a lot’, Rooney said of Mrs Vardy, 40, who is suing in the £3million Wagatha Christie trial
- Day five of the High Court libel case was marked by some of the most sensational claims heard in the trial yet
Coleen Rooney clutched a crucifix in her hand as she left court today after condemning her wag rival Rebekah Vardy’s ‘evil’ messages.
The silver cross on a chain was just visible in devout Catholic Coleen’s hand at the end of day 5 of the sensational £3m case.
Coleen, 36, had referred to the toxic string of messages between Rebekah, 40, and her agent Caroline Watt, in which Rebekah branded her (Coleen) a ‘c***’ ‘nasty b****’, and ‘trash’.
‘She says she has zero interest in what’s going on in my life, which I believe is totally untrue,’ Coleen replied. ‘She talks about me a lot… so that was a lie,’ she added.
Holier than thou: Coleen Rooney (left and right) leaves court wielding her phone, which has a family photo as its background, and a silver metal crucifix
Happy couple: Coleen and Wayne Rooney left court this afternoon after another gruelling day of testimony in the case
Mrs Rooney discussed the WhatsApp messages the court had heard between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt – in which Coleen featured.
She said she had never met or spoken to Ms Watt, commenting on the agent’s exchanges with Rebekah: ‘The messages that went on between them were just evil and uncalled for.’
‘There’s no need for it, I’ve never done anything to them,’ Coleen added.
She later said she had a lot of people contacting her immediately after the post, and Mr Tomlinson said people online were calling her ‘Wagatha Christie’.
She responded: ‘Yeah, which I just think is ridiculous.
Devout Catholic Rooney’s small metal cross was visible as it hung round her hand next to her phone while she left court
‘I got a lot of people sending me pictures, screenshots and obviously people didn’t realise how serious what was behind it was.
‘I felt it was hard and people I trusted and people I had let into my circle were going against me.’
She added: ‘I have never spoke about this until this case, so I haven’t dwelt on it, to be honest with you I have hated every minute of it.’
‘The words they used were not true, I’ve never done anything for them to monitor me and stalk me.’
Earlier today Rooney revealed how she ramped up her ‘Wagatha Christie’ investigation when her husband Wayne was ‘misbehaving’ with a blonde barmaid during a ten-hour bender with teammates in Florida.
Coleen also admitted keeping her probe secret from the former England captain – as well as lying to Rebekah Vardy after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram, as the women’s £3million libel trial continued.
London’s High Court heard the sting gathered momentum at a time when Rooney was ‘misbehaving.’ Asked if that was the case by Rebekah’s barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC, Coleen replied: ‘There’s been a few unfortunate things that have happened and they have been publicised. It’s happened quite a few times and I’ve dealt with it. We’ve dealt with it as a couple, as a family. There are a few things that have been publicised over a few years.’
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney both arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice in London
Rooney was pictured holding the religious symbol next to her phone as she left the High Court after day five of the £3m trial
Speaking of Rebekah’s response to her ‘troubles’, Coleen said: ‘I did feel that when there’s tough times going on, I felt Mrs Vardy would message more. I felt It’s when there are things in the news, she would message me and say How are you?’. I felt like it was fishing for information.’
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 has admitted keeping her ‘Wagatha Christie’ probe secret from husband Wayne – as well as lying to Rebekah Vardy after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram, as their libel trial continued today.
Asked by Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson QC at the High Court in London this morning why she had not told the ex-England captain about it, Coleen 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. 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.’
During cross-examination about her actions, 36-year-old Coleen also told Mr Tomlinson at the £3million trial today: ‘Yes I did lie, it was a cover-up for what I was investigating, I had my suspicions.’
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 said 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 said: ‘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.
The court heard one occasion when Rebekah went ‘fishing for information’ happened hours after her husband allegedly ‘spent time’ with the barmaid in Florida. Coleen told how Rebekah got in contact after The Sun told how she was threatening to quit the US and return to Britain after Rooney’s encounter with Vicki Rosiek when he was playing for DC United in Washington.
Making contact with Coleen at lunchtime on February 11 2019, the day after the article appeared, Rebekah wrote: ‘Hi my love! Hope you are ok! Just saw another s***ty story online! Can they not just leave you guys alone…I don’t know how you do it! It’s relentless…stay strong. Sending hugs.
Coleen replied: ‘Thanks, just a pain in a**e…it’s the kids half term so just gonna come home.’ Messaging Coleen back, Rebekah wrote: ‘It’s a joke! Annoys me someone close to you is clearly selling you out! And for what…I don’t blame you come home and be with your family’.
Over a two-month period, Coleen posted up to 50 stories on her account, up to five or six a day, that were only visible to Rebekah’s account, the court heard. Mr Tomlinson said: ‘This was really a serious and concerted operation wasn’t it Mrs Rooney.’ Coleen replied, saying: ‘It was important but I felt like it’s been made out in the public a lot more important than it actually is.’
Asked by Mr Tomlinson why she had not told Rooney about her investigation, Coleen 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. 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.’
Also today, Coleen admitted lying to Rebekah after being asked why she had unfollowed her on Instagram. During cross-examination about her actions, 36-year-old Coleen also told Mr Tomlinson at the trial today: ‘Yes I did lie, it was a cover-up for what I was investigating, I had my suspicions.’
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’.
It follows some of the most memorable parts of the trial last week, including:
- Rebekah speaking of her regret over a kiss-and-tell interview in which she revealed intimate details of a sexual encounter with singer Peter Andre, which resulted in an article headlined: ‘Peter’s hung like a small chipolata’;
- Claims over a celebrity spat breaking out after Rebekah was allegedly caught taking pictures of the contents of the late Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding’s handbag at the National Television Awards in 2018;
- Rebekah admitting she didn’t know who Davy Jones was when the court was reminded that her agent Caroline Watt had said in an earlier hearing that her phone had fallen into the North Sea
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.
Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today to continue the ‘Wagatha Christie libel trial
Coleen and Wayne Rooney are surrounded by photographers as they arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London today
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
‘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’.
Wagatha Christie timeline: How Coleen and Rebekah’s long-running, vicious war unfolded before the eyes of the world
September 2017 to October 2019 – The Sun runs a number of articles about Coleen, including that she travelled to Mexico to look into baby ‘gender selection’ treatment, her plan to revive her TV career and the flooding of her basement.
October 9, 2019 – Coleen uses social media to accuse Rebekah of selling stories from her private Instagram account to the tabloids.
Coleen says she spent five months attempting to work out who was sharing information about her and her family based on posts she had made on her personal social media page.
After sharing a series of ‘false’ stories and using a process of elimination, Coleen claims they were viewed by one Instagram account, belonging to Rebekah.
Rebekah, then pregnant with her fifth child, denies the allegations and says various people had access to her Instagram over the years.
She claims to be ‘so upset’ by Coleen’s accusation, later adding: ‘I thought she was my friend but she completely annihilated me.’
The public dispute makes headlines around the world, with the hashtag #WagathaChristie trending.
How it all began: On October 9, 2019, Coleen Rooney, now 36, accused Rebekah Vardy, 40, of leaking ‘false stories’ about her to the press in an Instagram post (above)
Shortly after Coleen’s public accusation, Rebekah – who was pregnant and on holiday in Dubai at the time – denied any involvement (above)
February 13, 2020 – In a tearful appearance on ITV’s Loose Women, Rebekah says the stress of the dispute caused her to have severe anxiety attacks and she ‘ended up in hospital three times’. Coleen says in a statement that she does not want to ‘engage in further public debate’.
June 23, 2020 – It emerges that Rebekah has launched libel proceedings against Coleen.
Rebekah’s lawyers allege she ‘suffered extreme distress, hurt, anxiety and embarrassment as a result of the publication of the post and the events which followed’.
November 19-20, 2020 – The libel battle has its first High Court hearing in London. A judge rules that Coleen’s October 2019 post ‘clearly identified’ Rebekah as being ‘guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust’.
Mr Justice Warby concludes that the ‘natural and ordinary’ meaning of the posts was that Rebekah had ‘regularly and frequently abused her status as a trusted follower of Coleen’s personal Instagram account by secretly informing The Sun of Coleen’s private posts and stories’.
February 8-9, 2022 – A series of explosive messages between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt – which Coleen’s lawyers allege were about her – are revealed at a preliminary court hearing.
The court is told Rebekah was not referring to Coleen when she called someone a ‘nasty bitch’ in one exchange with Ms Watt.
Coleen’s lawyers seek further information from the WhatsApp messages, but the court is told that Ms Watt’s phone fell into the North Sea after a boat she was on hit a wave, before further information could be extracted from it.
February 14 – Coleen is refused permission to bring a High Court claim against Ms Watt for misuse of private information to be heard alongside the libel battle. A High Court judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, says the bid was brought too late and previous opportunities to make the claim had not been taken.
April 13 – Ms Watt is not fit to give oral evidence at the upcoming libel trial, the High Court is told as the case returns for another hearing.
The agent revokes permission for her witness statement to be used, and withdraws her waiver which would have allowed Sun journalists to say whether she was a source of the allegedly leaked stories.
April 29 – Rebekah ‘appears to accept’ that her agent was the source of allegedly leaked stories, Coleen’s barrister David Sherborne tells the High Court. He argues that a new witness statement submitted by Rebekah suggests Ms Watt was the source but Rebekah claims she ‘did not authorise or condone her’.
Rebekah’s lawyer Hugh Tomlinson says the statement did not contain ‘any change whatever in the pleaded case’, with her legal team having no communication with Ms Watt.
May 10 onwards – The trial begins.
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.’
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
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
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’
A court artist’s sketch of Coleen Rooney, watched by her husband Wayne, as she gives evidence at court in London last Friday
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 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 ‘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.
A court artist’s sketch of Coleen Rooney, watched by her husband Wayne, as she gives evidence at the High Court today
Wayne Rooney and Coleen Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London this morning as the trial continued
‘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.
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today as the high-profile libel battle continues
Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy during his side’s Premier League match against Watford at Vicarage Road yesterday
‘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.’
Nicola McClean defends her close friend Rebekah Vardy and insists she ‘wants to clear her name’
Nicola McClean has defended her friend Rebekah Vardy
Nicola McClean has defended her friend Rebekah Vardy as the Wagatha Christie trial enters its second week.
Speaking on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, Nicola, who is married to footballer Tom Williams, insisted Rebekah ‘wants to clear her name’ in her libel trial against Coleen Rooney.
Nicola said she found it difficult to understand why Coleen was upset over stories leaked about family to the press, as she insisted ‘it’s common practice among the celeb industry to leak stories. So many people do it.’
Speaking on Monday, Nicola defended her friend Rebekah, explaining: ‘I think I found it quite hard to understand [why Coleen was so upset].’
‘The stories Coleen seemingly has a problem really didn’t seem like a big deal. But I suppose Coleen she is a very family-orientated woman.
‘She used to quite public but she has been private for a long time and when she took to the stand on Friday she said that at this time, things weren’t going well in her personal life and it just felt really personal that someone close to her was doing it.’
Nicola went on to insist that Rebekah’s sole motivation in going to trial is ‘to clear her name’.
‘It matters to her because she is categorically telling us she didn’t [leak stories].’
Nicola added that Rebekah suffered as a result of Coleen’s social media post, explaining: ‘I’m not here to be solely team Becky, but Coleen put that statement out and Rebekah was pregnant.
‘I saw all the awful messages to her and I saw how much she was struggling mentally.
She thought she was going to lose the baby at one point. That part of her pregnancy and the newborn stage, she lost.
‘And Coleen has lost because she doesn’t want her marriage dragged up again. They’re both already losing, but I really understand why they want the truth.’
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.’
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