Coleen Rooney: who is Wayne Rooney’s wife - what did she say about libel trial verdict in Rebekah Vardy case?

Coleen Rooney has released a statement on the verdict of her libel trial with Rebekah Vardy.

Dubbed Wagatha Christie, the trial saw Mrs Vardy who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie, sue Mrs Rooney for libel.

Mrs Rooney, 35, accused Mrs Vardy, 39, in an October 2019 Twitter post of leaking stories about her private life after a months-long “sting operation”.

Mrs Vardy denied leaking stories to the media and sued her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Mrs Rooney defended the claim on the basis her post was “substantially true”.

The civil case has now been resolved with Justice Steyn ruling in Rooney’s favour, finally putting an end to the three year saga.

But, who is Coleen Rooney - and what has she said after the verdict?

Who is Coleen Rooney?

Coleen Rooney is better known for being former England captain Wayne Rooney’s wife.

Coleen - born Coleen McLoughlin - met Wayne when they were both 12 as they went to the same school in Liverpool together.

The pair started dating at 16 years old after they had left secondary school - almost 20 years ago.

Coleen was thrust into the limelight when Wayne went on to play for Manchester United after leaving Everton - and was commissioned to write fashion columns for Closer and OK! Magazine.

Her love of style later saw her present her own TV show Coleen’s Real Women which championed non-models becoming the face of advertising campaigns.

The couple now have four sons together – Kai Wayne, Klay Anthony, Kit Joseph and Cass Mac.

What did Coleen say about the trial verdict?

After news of the verdict was announced, Mrs Rooney released a statement to the PA News Agency.

Mrs Rooney said: “Naturally, I am pleased that the judge has found in my favour with her judgement today.

“It was not a case I ever sought or wanted. I never believed it should have gone to court at such expense in times of hardship for so many people when the money could have been far better spent helping others.

“Both before and after my social media posts in October 2019, I made every effort to avoid the need for such a drawn out and public court case. All my attempts to do so were knocked back by Mrs (Rebekah) Vardy.

“This left me with no alternative but to go through with the case to defend myself and to end the repeated leaking of my private information to The Sun.

“These leaks from my private Instagram account began in 2017. They continued for almost two years, intruding on my privacy and that of my family. Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill-will, today’s judgment makes clear that I was right in what I said in my posts of October 2019.

“Finally, I would like to thank all of my legal team, my family, friends and everyone who supported me, including the public, through this difficult and stressful time.”

Why did Rebekah Vardy sue Coleen Rooney?

Coleen was sued for libel by Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City player Jamie Vardy.

Coleen, 35, accused Mrs Vardy, 39, in an October 2019 Twitter post, of leaking stories about her private life after a months-long “sting operation”.

The post earned Coleen the nickname of “Wagatha Christie” - a play on words based on the English writer Agatha Christie - famed for her 66 detective novels.

Coleen claimed Mrs Vardy had shared fake stories she posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper - but Rebekah denies the accusations.

What was the verdict?

The verdict was announced on 29 July, with Mrs Justice Steyn ruling in favour of Mrs Rooney.

Justice Steyn stated it was “likely” that the leaks had came from Mrs Vardy’s agent Caroline Watt.

The agent’s phone mysteriously fell into the North Sea before Mrs Rooney’s legal team could review it.

Ms Watt was not present in the libel case and was not called as a witness after she was declared unfit to do so for medical reasons.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Stern also acknowledged that Mrs Vardy had faced “vile abuse” following Rooney’s post.

She said: “Some members of the public have responded to the reveal post by subjecting Mrs Vardy to vile abuse, including messages wishing her, her family, and even her then-unborn baby, ill in the most awful terms.

“Nothing of which Mrs Vardy has been accused, nor any of the findings in this judgment, provide any justification or excuse for subjecting her or her family, or any other person involved in this case, to such vitriol.”

The loss means that Mrs Vardy will be responsible to pay the huge bill for Mrs Rooney’s legal costs which are estimated to be over £2 million.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.