The toxic legal battle between WAGs Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy still rumbles on – a year and a half since it began – with the next court showdown scheduled for July.
But last week, there was fresh tension for Coleen when her husband Wayne Rooney said in a Sunday Times opinion piece that Jamie Vardy, Rebekah’s husband of five years, was “a brilliant player” when asked who could make a difference to the England team’s chances in the forthcoming European Championships.
Acknowledging the ongoing spat between their wives, ex-England footballer Wayne added, “I know some people may be surprised at this, especially with the legal case between my wife and Jamie’s wife, but this is my honest football opinion.”
Coleen, 35, has been embroiled in a bitter row with Rebekah, 39, that erupted in October 2019 when she publicly accused the Dancing On Ice star of leaking stories to the press after carrying out a “sting operation” using Instagram. She claimed that she had planted three fake stories about her private life on her personal account, but made them visible only to Rebekah.
With the allegations causing a then-pregnant Rebekah “enormous stress” and “extreme upset and anxiety”, she denied the accusations and launched a libel case to sue Coleen for £1million damages, which is still ongoing.
When the “Wagatha Christie” scandal broke 20 months ago, Wayne, 35, unfollowed his former England teammate Jamie, 34, on Instagram. Then he refollowed him a year ago, but the Leicester City striker didn’t refollow Wayne.
Sources say that Coleen is still livid after Wayne’s Instagram refriend and now his recent public praise for Jamie has left her “humiliated”.
The source says, “Coleen had no idea what Wayne was going to say until she read it herself – she was blindsided. She was fuming when she saw the comments, and while he insisted he wanted to keep his footballing career separate from her case with Becky, she felt humiliated and let down.
“She told Wayne that his comments were unnecessary and could make people think he doesn’t have her back or isn’t taking the scandal seriously, despite it being one of the most stressful times of her life. She’s feeling really unsupported by him at the moment.
“After sticking by him amid all the scandal and heartache he’s put her through over the years, she expected him to be her rock, so any sign or hint that he’s not feels even more upsetting than the case itself, and brings back up all those issues of trust from the past.”
Coleen has been left feeling humiliated on a number of occasions in the past by Wayne, with whom she has four sons – Kai, 11, Klay, eight, Kit, five, and three-year-old Cass. The childhood sweethearts’ marriage has been plagued by drama, with Coleen repeatedly having to forgive Wayne’s public betrayals.
Back in 2004, it was reported that a then-teenage Wayne had cheated on Coleen with a number of prostitutes at a brothel in Liverpool, including a grandmother. Then, after two years of marriage and while Coleen was pregnant with Kai in 2019, former escort Helen Wood claimed Wayne had paid for a threesome with her and friend Jenny Thompson at a Manchester hotel.
Wayne also hit the headlines in 2017 when he was caught in a car with party girl Laura Simpson after a night out and tested positive for drink-driving. Coleen, who was pregnant with their fourth child, moved in with her parents before returning to the couple’s home two days later.
Check out: From Cheryl to Coleen Rooney - where are the 2006 WAGS now?
The UK Wags - where are they now? - slider
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1 of 9Victoria Beckham
One half of the indestructible Beckham brand, Victoria was the original Queen WAG in 2006. At the time Victoria had been married to David for seven years and had just given birth to her third boy, Cruz. She had also just launched her denim line, dvb Style and walked the catwalk for Roberto Cavalli. Over a decade later, she is a fully fledged and well respected fashion designer, with a fourth addition to her brood – the adorable Harper.
2 of 9Coleen Rooney
Coleen rose to fame as a WAG at just 20 years old. Coleen and Wayne are married and they celebrated their ten-year anniversary in 2018. However, Wayne's repeated cheating has strained the relationship over the years. They have four children together, Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass. Since 2006 Coleen has released a fitness DVD, been a style advisor for Littlewoods and even had a column with us in Closer magazine.
3 of 9Cheryl
How could we forget Cheryl as a WAG? Back then, 23-year-old Cheryl was a popstar in Girls Aloud who had just married Ashley Cole. Nowadays, Cheryl is a household name and a worldwide celebrity in her own right. After splitting from Ashley in 2010, she had a successful (well, successful-ish) solo career, was a judge on The X Factor and was the face of beauty brand L'Oreal. She married Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2016 but they divorced three months later. Most recently, Cheryl separated from One Direction singer, Liam Payne, who she has a baby son called Bearwith.
4 of 9Abbey Clancy
Abbey first grabbed our attention in 2006 as one of the finalists in Britain's Next Top Model. She began dating Peter Crouch that same year and the pair are now married with three kids Sophia Ruby, Liberty Rose and baby Johnny. Lingerie model Abbey went on to win Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and she returned to Britain's Next Top Model as the show's presenter. Not bad work, eh?
5 of 9Danielle Lloyd
Danielle Lloyd was dating footballer Teddy Sheringham when she gained her WAG status. At the time, her title as Miss Great Britain was a controversial matter and she was later stripped of it. Fast forward to now and Danielle has appeared on TV shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Total Wipeout, The Weakest Link and even Come Dine With Me. She has three sons, Archie, Harry and George with her now ex-husband Jamie O'Hara. Danielle gave birth to a fourth child with her husband Michael O'Neill, Ronnie, in 2017.
6 of 9Elen Rivas
Elen Rivas was engaged to Frank Lampard at the time of the 2006 World Cup, and was a permanent fixture in the WAG circle. After splitting from Frank after a seven-year relationship, she dated Peter Andre, appeared on Dancing On Ice and now looks after her two daughters Luna and Isla while working as a model. Frank has since married TV presenter Christine Bleakley and they've welcomed their daughter Patricia into the world.
7 of 9Louise Owen
Despite being married to one of the most famous footballers at the time, Louise Owen wasn't your stereotype WAG. She has always managed to keep her distance from the limelight. Her passion is rescuing race horses and she currently lives in Wales with her husband Michael and their four children, Gemma, James, Jessica and Emily.
8 of 9Carly Zucker
Now known as Carly Cole after marrying midfielder Joe Cole in Chelsea in 2009, Carly loved to party during the 2006 World Cup (we know the feeling). She then spent two weeks in the jungle during I'm A Celeb in 2009 before being the third to be booted out. Carly and Joe have had three children, Ruby, Harrison and Max together.
9 of 9Alex Curran
Former nail technician Alex Curran began dating Liverpool player Steven Gerrard in 2002. She was one of the leading figures in the 2006 WAG squad. The pair married in 2007 and they have had four children together, Lexie, Lio, Lord, Lilly-Ella. Fashion lover Alex has released a perfume, fronted a Lipsy campaign and written a weekly shopping column for a national newspaper.
But most recently the high-profile couple have been back on track. Coleen and Wayne celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary this coming weekend and are due to move into their new £20m country mansion in Cheshire after a series of lockdown delays.
And so insiders say that Coleen has now decided to keep the court case – which will resume on 2 July, where it will be revealed whether or not Rebekah’s latest attempts at “striking out” aspects of Coleen’s defence have been successful – completely separate from Wayne to prevent more upheaval in their marriage.
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The source adds, “While Wayne’s been supportive and has been an incredible dad and husband throughout all of this – stepping up whenever she’s needed him and helping calm her down when it’s all felt like too much – there have been times when his support has faltered. He’s made it clear that he’s found the whole thing very stressful too, given how intertwined it is with his own career and colleagues, which has caused understandable tension between them.
“Wayne insisted that his latest comments about Jamie just showed how embroiled his professional life is with the case, and that the last thing he would want to do is upset her.
“Coleen calmed down and appreciated that Wayne’s comments weren’t an intentional way to hurt her. She appreciates football is Wayne’s career, but she’s flat out asked him not to comment on anything related to the legal dispute, so that she can’t be humiliated again.
“After working so hard to get to this healthier place in their marriage, neither of them wants to do anything to jeopardise their new happiness.”
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