There was little festive cheer when, just weeks before the Christmas holidays, Rebekah Vardy’s legal team delivered legal papers to court, detailing her evidence in her explosive libel case against Coleen Rooney.
It was the latest stage in the now notorious WAGatha Christie drama, following Coleen Rooney’s shocking allegation that Rebekah Vardy’s Instagram account had leaked stories about her to the press.
Both women have faced criticism during the ongoing feud, as critics have blasted their “petty argument” and the gross waste of money amid a global pandemic where millions of lives and jobs have been lost.
In a recent preliminary hearing, Coleen, 34, was ordered to pay £23,000 in legal fees, and Rebekah, 38, is seeking £200,000 in damages – while a High Court case could reach £1million in costs.
Now, the pair – who have both publicly said that the money would be better used elsewhere – have agreed to try settling their dispute out of court by February, in a bid to stop a stressful, mud-slinging five-day trial next summer. And libel legal expert Caroline Kean says coming together to heal the 14-month bitter fallout is still possible for the pair.
Caroline tells Closer, “While we may not see them launching a bag collection together any time soon, there’s still hope for some sort of peace.
“Mediation is quite easy to set up, so Rebekah and Coleen could settle this before the year is out. Although the talks are more likely to be held in early January.”
In her 59-page legal document, filed on 8 December, Rebekah – who is married to Leicester footballer Jamie Vardy – strongly disputes Coleen’s accusations and evidence that only her Instagram account was able to view the false stories Coleen had posted as “bait”, which were later leaked to a newspaper.
Her legal team argue that 367 other followers, including fellow WAGS Danielle Lloyd and Cheshire Housewives star Dawn Ward, had access to Coleen’s private posts – though they don’t suggest that they were the source of the leaked stories.
Becky also confirmed others in her own inner circle, including assistants, had access to her log-in details for the social media app, and claims Coleen’s “sting operation” took just five weeks, rather than the months Coleen has claimed.
Rebekah also alleges that Coleen knew she was pregnant when she posted her “WAGatha” post and had sent her a congratulatory text. She also accuses Coleen of posting a threatening Instagram message directed at her just days ahead of her explosive tweet, which read, “If you play games with me, I’ll play them back harder.”
Check out: the WAGS - where are they 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.
She added that the WAGatha post, and the sickening trolling she received after Coleen’s initial accusation, have affected her mental health and previously revealed she had been admitted to hospital three times with severe anxiety attacks.
Her legal documents came in response to Coleen’s defense papers filed in October, in which she accused Rebekah of having a “habitual practice” of leaking stories to the press, using her rival’s kiss ’n’ tell story on Peter Andre – and her reference to his manhood as “a chipolata” – as evidence.
The wife of ex-England footballer Wayne Rooney also believes her nemesis to be behind The Sun newspaper’s Secret WAG column, which claims to dish the dirt off the pitch. Rebekah’s papers strongly disputed all of Coleen’s accusations.
Caroline says, “If these two don’t want to go to court – which I’m sure they don’t as they will be aware of how public and nasty it can be – then there’s still hope. They will have to make sacrifices to come to a deal, such as an apology. It seems to me that’s what Rebekah wants. However, mediation is completely confidential, so coming out of it with a private agreement would mean that neither of them could be seen as winners, but neither would be losers. It takes away the risk.”
It’s the second Christmas the WAGs have had the scandal hanging over them, after Coleen made her accusation in October 2019. In recent weeks, they have both posted happy festive snaps with their respective families, and it’s likely they will be keen to draw a line under their feud, instead of carrying the burden deep into 2021.
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During last month’s preliminary trial, notoriously private mum-of-four Coleen insisted through her lawyers she had tried settling through peace talks, while Rebekah – who is currently busy rehearsing for Dancing On Ice – is set to renew her wedding vows to Jamie in the summer, which is when the trial would take place.
And Caroline insists it’s best for Rebekah and Coleen to reach a resolution as soon as possible.
She says, “High Court libel cases are very public and will be harrowing – they won’t want that hanging over them as they go into the new year.
“Libel trials are a terrible way of washing your dirty linen in public. Look at the Johnny Depp trial. It’s a very fierce way of trying to defend your reputation, with risks on both sides – it’s very rare for there to be a happy outcome.”
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