We’d been waiting over two years for the showbiz trial of the century, and when the court battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney finally kicked off last week, it didn’t disappoint. From accusations of “selective amnesia”, “lying” and “bullying”, to shock comments about Peter Andre’s “chipolata” and the problems in Coleen’s marriage, it was non-stop drama at the Royal Courts of Justice in London – with the two warring WAGs taking centre stage each day.
As heat went to press, the trial was ongoing, but even though it was Rebekah suing Coleen for libel, we’re told Wayne Rooney’s wife feels she has won due to the unfavourable revelations about her rival – and because of many online comments being firmly #TeamRooney.
“Coleen has always been very open about not wanting this to go to court, and felt it was a waste of time and money,” our insider explains.
“But when it became clear Becky would not settle, she wanted to make sure she got her case across. Because of Becky’s denials, she knew it would be hard to prove her case, but even if she doesn’t come out as the legal winner, she feels that she will have the moral victory. During her evidence, Becky did not come out well in the public’s eyes, and she’s just glad her and her legal team got that out there.”
Rebekah – wife of Leicester striker Jamie – is suing Coleen for libel after Coleen accused “Rebekah Vardy’s account” of leaking false stories about her in October 2019, which Rebekah strongly denied. After numerous pre-trial hearings, things finally got underway when both women arrived at court on 10 May – Becky with her bodyguard, while Coleen was accompanied by her husband Wayne.
After opening statements by both lawyers – David Sherborne representing Coleen, and Hugh Tomlinson representing Becky – it was time for Becky to take to the stand, and receive a two-day grilling from Coleen’s team. In Coleen’s original post, she claimed that stories and pictures she was posting on her private Instagram account (which she allowed Becky to follow her on) had been making their way into The Sun and she wanted to know who was leaking them. So, she posted some fake stories and only let Becky’s account view them to see if they made it into the newspaper – which they did. Becky has always maintained it wasn’t her who leaked the stories.
She now appears to accept that Caroline Watt, her agent at the time, was the source of the leaked stories. But Coleen’s lawyer claimed Becky was working with Caroline, as WhatsApp messages showed them discussing Coleen and posts on her private Instagram, and spoke about “leaking” them. The court heard that during one text exchange, Caroline messaged Becky to ask her about a car crash Coleen had just had, and she instructed her to go to Coleen’s private page. When the story came out in The Sun, Coleen wrote on her Twitter that somebody was selling stories on her and Caroline messaged Becky to say, “It was me”. When questioned about it, mum-of-five Becky said she didn’t read the message, as she was bathing her children and then watching Gemma Collins “face-plant” during Dancing On Ice.
Becky was also accused of “selective amnesia” when discussing a photo from the 2018 World Cup, which saw Becky in the middle of a photo of other WAGs, which she is alleged to have set up with Caroline without the others knowing. Messages between the pair show them arranging a photographer to get the shot to sell on before the others put up pictures on their Instagram. Becky denied this, and when asked what happened, she said she couldn’t remember, as she’d been drinking that day. Coleen’s lawyer told the court that Becky had also changed her version of events from her original statement.
In a terse exchange, Mr Sherborne told the High Court, “You’re making this up, aren’t you, Mrs Vardy? The reason you can’t get your story straight is because you’re lying.”
In another particularly fractious exchange, Becky started an answer by saying, “If I’m honest…”
“Well, I’d much rather you were honest because you’re standing in the witness box,” he replied. Becky said she was “absolutely not lying” and explained that the discrepancy regarding the World Cup photo was because she had not read over her own WhatsApp messages with Caroline.
One of the women in the photo, Fern Hawkins – who was engaged to Harry Maguire at the time, one of Jamie’s former Leicester teammates – was said to be very upset by the photo as she had no idea it would be taken. This was according to the then-FA family liaison officer Harpreet Robinson, who also backed up Coleen’s claim that Becky moved seats during a Euro 2016 match to sit behind Coleen to gain maximum publicity. Again, this is something Becky denies. She rolled her eyes when Harpreet was mentioned, claiming Harpreet had taken an instant dislike to her.
Becky – who broke down in tears several times and said she had felt bullied and manipulated by the questioning – told the court she had never sold stories on anyone and was not a “leaker”.
When Coleen’s lawyer referred her to the 2004 kiss-and-tell she sold on Peter Andre, in which she likened his manhood to a chipolata, she admitted she was ashamed and embarrassed about it, but says she was made to sell the story by her ex-husband (which he denies) and make up quotes. He quizzed her on her close relationship with journalists at The Sun, but she said the paper gave her an opportunity to put her side across and it had nothing to do with selling stories on others.
More messages between Becky and Caroline were shown, in which it was revealed that Jamie’s former teammate Danny Drinkwater had been arrested for drink-driving. Becky said she was “fuming” when Caroline said The Sun already knew, so they couldn’t sell the story. Becky admitted she did try and leak that, but only because another ex-husband of hers had killed two people while drink-driving, so it was something that was important to her. “It was a fleeting thought, and I did not consider it any more after I wrote it,” she said, adding, “It was a fleeting comment, and something I probably considered at the time. And that was it… I’m deeply affected by drink-driving. My ex-husband killed two people during our marriage. I didn’t care if the information came out.’’
In another exchange with Caroline, Becky calls Coleen a “c--t” for briefly unfollowing her on Instagram.
When Becky sued Coleen for libel, Coleen’s lawyers demanded that Becky and Caroline hand over their phones and any messages between them. Unfortunately, Caroline’s phone fell into the North Sea; Becky’s WhatsApp was wiped as she tried to send them over; and the laptop she used during the time of the leaks was no longer working. Becky denied deliberately destroying any evidence.
However, in some retrieved messages, the court heard Becky and Caroline regularly spoke about leaking stories, including one about a female celebrity who was cheating on her footballer partner. Becky said she never meant anything by these and that it was just her and Caroline having a joke. She also denied claims she was The Sun’s “Secret WAG”.
Becky got emotional when discussing the abuse she had received after Coleen’s post – and the worries she’d had about her unborn baby as she was seven months pregnant at the time. When Coleen’s lawyer accused her of throwing her agent Caroline under a bus, she denied this and reiterated her innocence.
Before it was Coleen’s turn to take to the stand, the majority consensus on social media seemed to be that Becky was in the wrong. “Even if she wins this, everyone has seen what a nasty woman she is”, thought one user.
When it was Coleen’s turn to take to the stand, she said she hadn’t wanted it to get to court, and only posted her infamous post as a “last resort”. However, she said she was shocked at how much interest there was, and that it wasn’t her intention for Becky to get abused as she did. She said she couldn’t stop it as she had been instructed to stay silent by her legal team, because Becky had sent a legal letter the day after the post. She added, “I’ve been silent... I don’t want to be here... it’s Mrs Vardy who has brought me here.”
Coleen also spoke about the issues in her marriage to Wayne in 2017, when he was arrested fordrink- driving while taking home Laura Simpson – all while a pregnant Coleen was on holiday. After spending time at her parents’ house, she decided to move home and give the marriage another go, so was upset when information from her private Instagram ended up in The Sun.
She said there were lots of details about her life at the time that she didn’t want in the press. “I was in a vulnerable situation,” she said. “There had been some wrongdoing by my husband. 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.’’’
Although the case has been very stressful for Coleen – who’s reportedly signed a Netflix deal to cover it – she now just wants to get on with her life and say thank you to those who have supported her.
“This has been so stressful and Coleen’s so grateful for all the support, especially from Wayne, her friends and family – they’ve been her rock,” we’re told.
“Once it’s all over, she’s going to have a big ‘thank you’ party. She is mortified by the costs and wants to do some stuff for charity to try and make up for it. After everything that she went through with Becky, she is just glad she’s got loyal friends and family who support her.”