It’s two years since the “Wagatha Christie” drama began, and the war between Coleen Rooney and Becky Vardy raged on last week as shock messages came to light in court.
While the trial isn’t due to start until May, there was a two-day hearing last week to decide what evidence could be used in the case, in which Coleen is being sued for libel after alleging that Becky sold stories about her to the tabloids – something she fiercely denies. And among the explosive revelations was a series of WhatsApp messages between Becky and her PR agent Caroline Watt. The exchanges seemingly include Caroline admitting “it was me” when discussing a story that had been leaked to the press, and Becky referring to Coleen as a “d--k.”
Now, former WAG Danielle Lloyd – who was married to footballer Jamie O’Hara and is a friend of Coleen’s – tells Closer she was left stunned by the “brutal” messages.
She says, “I was really shocked, I couldn’t believe it. The messages I read on the news stories were brutal.”
The row between the WAGs erupted in 2019, when Coleen, 35, believed someone was leaking false stories about her to the press. After mounting an elaborate sting operation, she publicly blamed Becky, saying she was the only person to have seen the stories on her Instagram. However, Becky – wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy – vehemently denies the allegations.
And Danielle, 38, tells Closer she fears that the court case is bound to have caused problems within Coleen and Becky’s families and friendship circle.
She says, “I definitely think it’s going to have caused a divide between any mutual friends they have. And with footballers and WAGs, what happens publicly off the pitch affects them on the pitch too, and vice versa. It can cause a really toxic atmosphere at home.”
Becky, 39, has previously revealed that she was left feeling suicidal and fearing for her unborn baby, as a result of the online abuse she received after Coleen’s accusation. The mum of five, who was seven months pregnant with her daughter, also said she suffered panic attacks. Meanwhile, rival fans taunted Jamie at matches, chanting “Becky Vardy is a grass,” and one of her children was bullied at school. Last year, Jamie was also dragged into the case when a high-court judge ordered that his mobile phone should be analysed by experts, because he had access to Becky’s Instagram account.
Danielle says, “We’ve already seen Jamie have abuse yelled at him and the longer this rumbles on and the more that comes out, the higher the possibility that that will continue. It isn’t nice to be taunted and I’m sure it will have caused a bit of upset between them at home, even though I have no doubt Jamie will still support Becky just as Wayne has done with Coleen.”
Just a week after their row first exploded, Rebekah opened up about her experience of a “toxic” WAG world, saying, “It’s a very fake world.” And Danielle agrees it can be hard to form genuine friendships.
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.
She says, “In any celebrity circuit, some people keep their lives private, while others have egos and crave fame. In the past I’ve made the mistake of trusting people and opened up to them, only for them to later betray my trust. It’s hard and makes you feel guarded.
“It does affect your life when you’re second-guessing everyone, it’s just horrendous. It even affects your family life as you can become suspicious of even those closest to you. Coleen thought she had a private account for people she trusted, and her trust was abused.”
Now, Danielle hopes Coleen and Becky can find a way to call a truce.
“I think the best thing for all of them now would be to put this to bed, for their families’ sakes. I don’t think Rebekah and Coleen will ever be friends again, but I hope they can get on with their lives. This has gone beyond the world of WAGs. It’s so personal and has become so messy. I think they’ll both be wishing this is over – it’s a shame it’s got this far.”
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The courtroom bombshells
The latest revelations in the Rebekah Vardy vs Coleen Rooney saga have proved the most explosive yet. Written submissions in court last week revealed a series of WhatsApp messages between Becky and her PR assistant Caroline Watt, including one where Becky told her “That’s war,” after Coleen accused her of leaking stories on Twitter.
The court heard other messages included one where Becky allegedly called Coleen a “nasty b----.” However, Becky’s barrister insisted the messages had been “taken out of context” and that the abusive term in fact referred to someone else.
Coleen’s case also pointed to messages discussing a post she had made on her private Instagram, about her car being damaged. Becky allegedly told Caroline she “would love to leak those stories” and days later, a story about the car emerged in the press. After Coleen tweeted that someone was “betraying” her, Caroline messaged Becky saying, “It wasn’t someone she trusted. It was me,” followed by a laughing face emoji.
Other messages also show the pair seemingly discussing a cover-up if suspected, with Caroline telling Becky she would blame “one of the girls in the office [who] had my old laptop with your passwords saved on it”. However, Becky’s lawyer said the information and messages disclosed provide “no evidence” that the WAG leaked the fake posts, and that other messages demonstrate “beyond doubt” that she wasn’t responsible for the leaks. In one WhatsApp, sent after Coleen’s Twitter accusation, Becky says, “That c*** needs to get over herself. I really can’t see anyone being that arsed with selling stories on her.”
Last week Coleen’s barrister also told the court that Caroline’s phone was dropped overboard into the North Sea, shortly after the court ordered that it should be searched. He added that “Around the same time, all media files from Ms Vardy’s WhatsApp conversation with Ms Watt also bizarrely disappeared.”
The full libel trial is due to begin in May.