The first hearing into the infamous “WAGatha Christie” case concluded last week in favour of Rebekah Vardy, whose claim that former friend Coleen Rooney pointed the finger at her directly when she accused her Instagram account of leaking information about her and her family was accepted by a judge.
Rebekah, 38, is suing Coleen, 34, for libel after she publicly accused Rebekah’s Instagram account of leaking stories about her to a national newspaper – which Rebekah, who was pregnant at the time, vehemently denied.
The pair tried online mediation in June, but after failing to find a solution, Rebekah decided to launch costly legal proceedings as a last resort, with mum-of-three Coleen – married to former England player Wayne – reportedly having a “blank cheque” and being willing to spend whatever it takes to find the truth.
And after the preliminary hearing last Thursday, Mr Justice Warby agreed with Rebekah’s claim on the meaning of what Coleen had said, which means that Coleen will now have to prove the fake stories she planted and which appeared in a national newspaper came from Rebekah, 38, directly.
Despite the hearing going in favour of Rebekah, Coleen’s spokesperson defiantly said it was a “technical legal meaning” and “changes nothing” – suggesting she is keen to go to trial.
Her spokesperson added, “Coleen is pleased the judge has ordered that Rebekah must file her reply to the defence, on oath, by no later than 8 December.
“After three years of stress and anxiety about the leaks from her private social-media account, Coleen is keen to see progress made on the real issues, beginning with what Rebekah has to tell the court.”
And Coleen’s pal, Danielle Lloyd, thinks that she will be riled up for her day in court – but also that she’ll be embarrassed and both women will end up regretting everything.
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.
Former WAG Danielle says, “I’ve been in Coleen’s situation and it’s devastating – so I do completely understand how this has come about. I think she was strong and brave. Coleen was furious and determined to get to the bottom of it.
“She’ll still be determined to get answers and figure out what happened. But I do also think she’ll be embarrassed and wish none of this had ever happened. I’m totally on Coleen’s side but, with everything going on in the world at the minute, I think she’ll be feeling a bit torn over it all.
“And I think Rebekah will be having regrets, too. While she’s desperate to clear her name, she probably does regret taking it this far. Everyone probably would have forgotten about it all by now if it wasn’t for this outrageous court case. They’ll both regret it.”
Although the case was brought by Rebekah, during the hearing, she – through her legal team – offered to halt the proceedings until 8 February in one final attempt to resolve the case by meeting face-to-face, and avoiding a £1 million legal battle.
This could suggest a U-turn, as Coleen’s lawyers said they’d offered mediation on “numerous occasions” without coming to a conclusion. Coleen’s latest statement suggests they will now come face-to-face in court and it will be up to Coleen – who was ordered to pay £23k in legal costs for the initial hearing alone – to prove that Rebekah herself leaked the stories.
Coleen has already provided a 56-page defence document in her bid to prove her claim that Becky has a “habit” of selling stories to the press. It includes a kiss-and-tell story the mum of five did on Peter Andre in 2004, where she branded the Mysterious Girl singer’s private parts as a “miniature chipolata”, after a one-night stand they shared in 2001, as well as claiming she was The Sun newspaper’s Secret Wag columnist.
And as they now both fight to clear their names, it’s likely more explosive details will come to light, as was seen in the recent Johnny Depp libel case over claims Johnny beat his ex-wife Amber Heard – with Johnny, who was represented by Coleen’s lawyer, David Sherborne, losing the case.
Mediator Alistair Carter, of Mediate UK, says that the case is likely to get a whole lot worse, and may even culminate in both women ruining their own reputations.
He says, “The first round is over – and while you could say that Rebekah is the winner and Coleen is the loser in round one, I think really they’ll both be feeling like losers, because it’s going to get a lot worse. These type of cases can get really murky, and there’s a lot of mud-slinging.”
Fans also commented on how “petty” the argument itself is in light of the coronavirus pandemic – with one writing, “Millions of pounds are being wasted on a trivial spat between two spoilt housewives.”
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And Alistair adds that this aspect will also damage the women’s reputations – and that they should agree to work things out behind closed doors.
He says, “I think it’s become clear to the public and the court themselves that this is all very petty now. They have already destroyed part of their reputations and will continue to do so if the trial continues.
“The best thing both women could do now is use mediation to settle out of court. They could save their reputations by donating all the money they would have spent in court to a charity or food bank and feed some hungry families at Christmas. It’s ridiculous it’s gone this far.”
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