They both have first-hand experience of being at the centre of bitter WAG wars, which have thrown both of them into the full glare of the spotlight.
Now insiders reveal that Rebekah Vardy and Lauryn Goodman have struck up a blossoming friendship that is going from strength to strength.
A source close to Becky – who’s recently been on back-to-back holidays to Thailand, the Maldives, Marbella and Turkey – says she got in touch with Lauryn amid drama with on/off lover Kyle Walker, the father of her two children.
The insider says, “She’s really bonded with Lauryn over the last few weeks. It started with Becky just reaching out to offer Lauryn support during the Euros.
“But it’s progressed massively into almost daily calls, and they are now planning on meeting up when Becky gets back from her holidays to cement their friendship. Lauryn really appreciates Becky’s support and she’s someone she has grown to like, admire and respect.
“For Becky, it was really important to her that Lauryn knew that she had someone she could lean on if she needed help and support with all the negative attention she received while Kyle was playing in the Euros. Becky’s totally in her corner and knows how toxic the general environment around the WAGs can be.”
Upcoming Celebs Go Dating star Lauryn, 33, has a complicated yet close tie to the WAG world, having had her two children with married Manchester City footballer Kyle. In April 2020, she gave birth to son Kairo, after naming Kyle as the father following their brief dalliance in 2019.
Two months later, Kyle’s wife, Annie Kilner – who shares sons Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, Reign, five, and three-month-old Rezon with the England player – opened up in an interview, saying, “What [Kyle] has done to me and our children is obscene. I can’t begin to put it into words. In late March last year, he was unfaithful with a reality TV star. I found out a month later and was broken by it.”
Despite the betrayal, Annie, 32, decided to stick by her childhood sweetheart, and they tied the knot in 2022. But the scandal imploded once again in August last year, when Lauryn welcomed a daughter – who is only known by the initials KW – and Kyle was later confirmed to be the father. It appeared to be all but over for him and Annie, but in May, it was reported that the sportsman had been “welcomed back” into their marital home, and rumours of a reconciliation strengthened when the WAG and their children were pictured supporting Kyle in the Euros stands in Germany.
Lauryn, on the other hand, was reportedly heartbroken for Kairo after Kyle failed to fly them out to Germany for the tournament, but a newspaper allegedly paid for them to watch group stage games. Lauryn received a public backlash after attending the same matches as Annie, leaving the mum-of-two retaliating, “[Kairo] honestly had the best day. That’s all that matters”.
Meanwhile, Becky – the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy – has become famed for her sensational three-and-a-half-year legal battle with fellow WAG Coleen Rooney, which culminated almost two years ago. After Coleen, in what quickly became a viral post, accused “Rebekah Vardy’s account” of leaking stories about her to the press in 2019, Becky sued her for libel. The case went to trial in May 2022, with a judge ruling Coleen’s claims to be “substantially true” two months later.
And now, after Becky’s own experience in the courtroom, insiders say that she has been a voice of reason to Lauryn, who came face-to-face with Kyle last week during a two-day hearing at family court – allegedly to discuss financials.
The insider says, “Becky knows all too well what it’s like to be at the centre of a high-profile trial. That’s why she wanted Lauryn to be reassured that she was rooting for her and wishing her well.
“Becky has also encouraged Lauryn not to look at social media. During the Wagatha Christie trial, Becky was bombarded with sickening threats. She knows Lauryn has been having a hard time with trolls, so has offered her advice on how to best cope with it.”
Becky, 42 – who is mum to Megan, 19, and Taylor, 14, from previous relationships, and Sofia, nine, Finley, seven, and four-year-old Olivia with Jamie – also butted heads with Annie on social media last year, which, after some cryptic back and forth swipes, saw Becky calling Annie a “doormat”.
And in the wake of their individual dramas, a source says that Becky and Lauryn’s friendship runs deeper than simply sharing advice.
“They’ve just become really solid mates,” the insider shares. “Lauryn has been asking Becky for recommendations about where she might go on holiday, and has been complimenting Becky for how amazing she looks. Becky has said to her it’s down to the fact that she’s in a really happy place in her life, and that has been a huge source of encouragement to Lauryn.”