The ugly truth behind Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy’s betrayal bombshell

A sensational "war of the WAGs" erupted last week when Coleen Rooney dramatically pointed the finger at Rebekah Vardy amid allegations of someone betraying her by selling stories to the press.

Her Twitter post – which detailed how she had investigated her suspicions by muting all of her private Instagram followers except Rebekah’s account – went viral, creating headlines around the world and leading her to be dubbed "Wagatha Christie" in reference to the crime writer famed for her detective plot lines.

Heavily-pregnant Rebekah,who was on holiday in Dubai with footballer hubby Jamie at the time, fiercely denied the claims, publicly asking Coleen why she hadn’t called to put the claims to her before going public.

Rebekah later spoke out in an interview, revealing the pair spoke on the phone soon after the drama exploded. She said, "It was not an easy phone call. She said to me, 'I’m not pointing the finger', and I said, 'You have just annihilated me in public and hung me out to dry. The whole world hates me!'"

Their gripping feud quickly escalated into a wider divide within the world of footballers' wives, with side-taking and mud-slinging. Danielle Lloyd, who was married to former Spurs star Jamie O’Hara, waded in by branding Rebekah a "rat", but she quickly hit back that Danielle was only bitter because she hadn’t helped set her up with a footballer.

Women's England football star Toni Duggan said she was appalled at what Coleen had been through, branding it "disgusting", while Chantelle Heskey, wife of Wayne’s former England teammate Emile, also sided with Coleen.

Surprisingly, Coleen also found an unlikely ally in Helen Wood – the escort who had enjoyed a threesome with Waynewhile Coleen was pregnant with their first son, Kai, in 2009. She called Rebekah a "snake in the grass."

But Rebekah was supported by Nicola McLean, wife of ex-QPR player Tom Williams, who refuted the accusation stories were leaked by her friend and said Coleen was wrong to deal with it publicly. As the drama grew, Lizzie Cundy – who last week split from boyfriend Jeremy Gordeno and was previously married to ex Chelsea and Spurs footballer Jason until 2010 – told Closer that this "level of bitchiness" is not unusual in their world.

Lizzie, 50, says, "Everyone has this idea that being married to a footballer is so glamorous – nice cars, big houses, designer bags – but the ugly truth is that it’s so competitive that it breeds paranoia, rivalry and jealousy between the wives, even more so than the players on the pitch.

"Imagine if your husband isn’t as big a star as his teammate, and it’s the teammate who is getting all the praise, the money and the fame... While in a normal job, you probably don’t know your husband’s office dynamics, but in football, your husband’s job is being played out in front of the cameras every week. It is literally like being on your own TV show because there are cameras on you as the wife, too."

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Old reports dating back to Euro 2016 also re-emerged last week, of a falling-out between Coleen and Rebekah’s husbands Wayne and Jamie, after Rebekah wrote a newspaper column slamming French police for treating the wives like "caged animals" during the tournament. Team captain Wayne allegedly "warned" Jamie over his wife’s controversial comments bringing negative press.

And according to Lizzie, what happens between the men on the pitch filters down to the wives, too. "Football is not a job, it’s your whole life, so when your husband has rivalry or a feud with another player, then you as a wife can’t really be loyal or a friend to the other player’s wife.

"There’s no sentiment in football. It’s about making money, having power, and of course, the more famous your partner is, the more famous you are. It gets obsessive. I’ve seen one footballer’s wife being gifted a new car and the next day, another wife scratching it down the side. I’ve even heard of one WAG putting laxatives in the dinner of her husband’s biggest rival teammate so he couldn’t play in a big game the next day."

Lizzie is friends with both Rebekah and Coleen, and says she’s offered to play mediator – but she suspects their friendship is now irreparable, especially after Rebekah hit back at Coleen in the interview days after the allegations, saying, "Arguing with Coleen is like arguing with a pigeon. You can tell it that you’re right and that it is wrong, but it is still going to s--t in your hair."

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Lizzie is also pals with Danielle and, explaining her bitterness towards Rebekah, said, "In football, you’re all thrown into the same circle but that doesn’t mean that everyone is the same and that they have a bond.

"Some of them are desperate for fame, which can cause tension and mistrust. But that’s why it is so strange that this has all stemmed from Coleen’s bombshell tweet, because in reality, Coleen hates being in the spotlight and craves a quiet life.

"She’s a sweet girl and more clever than people give her credit for – but I guess that’s why she’s done it this way, because people will see she’s not a pushover and it will make everyone think twice before they cross her. What I do know is that she wouldn’t have posted this if she wasn’t 100 per cent sure that it came from Rebekah’s account, and she would have got lawyers in to back it up before she posted it."

You can read more celebrity news in this week's Closer magazine - out now.