In the wake of the story-leaking scandal, as Rebekah Vardy faced a backlash over her spat with Coleen Rooney, the mum of four slammed sick trolls who wished her unborn baby would die.
Taking to Instagram last week, as the feud gathered pace, Rebekah – who is seven months pregnant – shared vile messages sent to her by cruel followers, targeting her appearance and her unborn baby.
The first horrific message shared by the star, saw a troll write, “Fk u dirty sly ct I hope that baby dies within you B***H.”
Another, from a fellow mum, read, ‘Transvestite looking thing that you are. As if anybody believe your bulls**t story. I’m glad you got exposed and tatted out by Coleen Rooney (sic)... It’s no less than you deserve...”
Opening up to Closer about her battle with bullies in an exclusive chat a few weeks ago, Rebekah, 37, insisted staying silent only fuels the hate.
She explained, “I’ve learned not to rise to what people say. Before, I would feed their fire, and now I don’t. Unless it’s something I feel strongly about that should be highlighted – then I’ll put it out there and say how I feel. The more we’re silent about it, the more it’ll continue.”
And the star – who shot to fame when her husband, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, led his team to an unexpected premier league victory – offered an intriguing insight into the world of footballers’ wives, insisting it could be very “fake”.
Check out: The UK Wags - where are they now?
The UK Wags - where are they now?
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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 told us, “Just because I’m Jamie’s wife, doesn’t define who I am. It doesn’t define all the other wives and who they are. There are some people who are part of the WAG community but that’s not me. It’s a very fake world.
“When you’re forced into friendships, or forced to become friends with someone because your husband plays for the same team, it’s weird. I don’t buy into fake friends. I won’t be friends with someone because their husband or boyfriend plays for the same team. I’m lucky to have the friends I have, I’ve got a close circle and I trust them implicitly. I wouldn’t be friends with someone just because they have a nice bag, a nice pair of shoes – I’m not that fickle.”
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Rebekah, who has been married twice before, also opened up about her life prior to meeting Jamie, revealing she used to be somebody who found it difficult to trust and would push friends away.
She told Closer, “I used to describe myself as a whirlwind that came in and f****d s**t up.
“Someone once bought me a book which was called How To Make Friends And Keep Them, because I just push everyone away all the time, and I didn’t trust anyone.
“I thought everyone was out to get me. But I realise now that’s how I taught myself to be, because of everything that had gone on in my past. I didn’t want to let anyone in, because I thought everyone was going to hurt me. It took someone like Jamie, to be the way he’s been with me, for me to realise not everyone’s out to get me, and focus on the positives.”
Read even more celeb exclusives in this week’s Closer magazine – out now.