Coleen Rooney: ‘I won’t let Wayne hold me back’

From the outside, it may look as if she leads a glamorous and exciting life, but that isn’t always the case for Coleen Rooney. As the long-suffering wife of footballer Wayne and a hands-on mum to four boisterous sons – Kai, ten, Klay, seven, Kit, four, and two-year-old Cass – she certainly has her work cut out.

And, like most other parents around the country, that has only intensified over the last few months. But while she has loved having so much family time, we’re told that it’s also got her thinking about what she wants to do with her life, and she’s determined to make some changes.

“Lockdown has been full-on for Coleen, making endless meals for five hungry males, home schooling three kids, taking care of the baby, and dealing with the disagreements, tantrums and general rough and tumble of four boys,” our Rooney insider says. “But she’s stepped up to the challenge of keeping them all entertained for nearly three months – she deserves a medal.”

The source continues, “What she wants now is to get her career back, for the sake of her own sanity. For the last few years, she’s been too busy to even think about work, what with the kids, moving to America and back, and the new house. She couldn’t even contemplate doing anything related to showbiz, but she’s always stayed engaged with it and now is the time. Her life is in a good place – she’s exercising every day, the home routine with the family is good and it all works, and everyone is settled and happy now they’re back in the UK. She feels like she can step back a little and not always have to be in mum mode.”

Before she had her children, Coleen, 34, was building a successful personal brand with her own range of books, perfumes and clothes, as well as TV show Coleen’s Real Women. While she continued a lot of her work after Kai was born, since having the other three boys, she more or less gave it up as she concentrated on raising the kids and supporting Wayne through his career. But she has been linked to a number of shows, including Dancing On Ice and Strictly Come Dancing, and we’re told she is tempted by them. Although there is a chance Strictly might not go ahead this autumn due to social-distancing rules, head judge Shirley Ballas said last week she is “99 per cent confident” it will happen – and it could be a great opportunity for Coleen.

Coleen and Wayne Rooney's complete relationship timeline:

“Coleen is always being offered stuff like Strictly and I’m A Celeb. She gets begged to do them every year,” we’re told. “She loves watching them, so of course she’s tempted to do one and has talked over the various offers with her management. They’ve advised her that doing one will be a great launchpad for restarting her career, as people can really get to see her personality. She would also love to do more fashion, lifestyle and fitness work, and she’s had lots of discussions with fashion brands about potential projects, so she’s excited about that. But the first thing she needs is to do a good TV show that will allow her personality to really shine through. Something that shows people the fun and smart side, not the tabloid version of her where she’s just Wayne’s put-upon wife. She is desperate to shake that off and knows it’s what holds her back.”

The insider adds that lockdown gave Wayne, 34, a chance to see how much Coleen did at home, and while he has tried to help as much as he can, he is now back training with his club Derby County, as matches are set to take place later this month. And, while he wants Coleen to have a career, he is also worried about what it will mean for their family life. In the past, they have both said how Coleen does everything around the house and for the family, so it would mean a big change for everyone.

“Wayne is fully supportive of Coleen going back to work and knows she deserves a break. However, he can’t help but have concerns about a showbiz career, which involves doing a TV show,” our insider says “He’s not keen on her doing Strictly and thinks there’s no way she can find the time to do it, even with all the help from her parents. It goes on for months and Coleen would be gone every weekend. And he’s also got the fear over the Strictly curse and Coleen getting paired with a good-looking dance partner – that’s not something he even wants to think about. Coleen just laughed, and told him, ‘Well, you’d get a taste of your own medicine then, wouldn’t you?’ She’s warned him not to put any obstacles in her way – he needs to fully support her on this, after all she’s put up with from him over the years. She knows she has a fight on her hands, though.”

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The source adds that Wayne is also wary because of the attention it will bring, following Coleen’s high-profile fallout with fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy, which could end up in court later this year. “Wayne has some concerns about the Rebekah Vardy situation,” we’re told. “He’s never worried about anything Coleen has done before in terms of the impact it could have on his career, but now he’s concerned about what she might say if she did a big TV show. He’s concerned she could be pushed into saying things for ratings, or if she did Strictly or Dancing On Ice, they would give her a really good-looking partner just to stir things up. Coleen really doesn’t need to have his opinion at this stage – it is important to her that this is her own decision and doesn’t need him to be involved.”

The source adds, “She’s not an idiot, though – she would only do something she feels comfortable with.”

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