Coleen Rooney Reflects on Wagatha Christie Saga as 'Worst Time of Her Life'

Coleen Rooney has described the Wagatha Christie ordeal with Rebekah Vardy as the "worst time of my life." The saga, which began nearly seven years ago when Rooney publicly accused Vardy of leaking private stories to the press, culminated in a libel case that saw Vardy ordered to pay Rooney £1.5 million towards legal fees.

In a recent interview on the "We Need To Talk" podcast, Rooney, 40, recounted the extensive emotional and personal impact of the dispute. She explained that while she had navigated other significant life challenges, including grief and marital problems with husband Wayne Rooney, the Wagatha Christie case was uniquely devastating because it felt beyond her control.

Rooney shared the sadness she experienced when many friends revealed they had feared she suspected them of being the source of the leaks. "It wasn't until after I had done that post that I seen the relief in people's faces," she said, noting that numerous individuals approached her expressing their relief that she didn't believe they were responsible. The realization that so many people felt the need to distance themselves from her to avoid suspicion added to her distress.

"This was out of my control," Rooney stated, reflecting on how the situation affected her. "It totally stripped me of my personality."

She also questioned why Vardy, 44, had been part of her social circle in the first place, emphasizing that their acquaintance was primarily due to their husbands playing for England together. "We never had a friendship," Rooney clarified. She added that she never anticipated the situation escalating to such a degree, but felt compelled to expose the leak as a matter of personal privacy.

"Even though I'm in the public eye, I've got a right to have some privacy. I've got a right to live my life," she asserted. The breach of her private circle led her to become wary of others, a change she found deeply unsettling.

Following Rooney's October 2019 Instagram post, Vardy denied the allegations and initiated defamation proceedings in the High Court the subsequent year. Rooney maintained that she believed the matter could have been resolved privately and expressed a strong reluctance to go to court, viewing it as a place where she would be subjected to intense public scrutiny and judgment.

The most significant cost of the ordeal, Rooney stated, was her "presence with my family." She felt immense guilt about not being mentally present as a mother and wife due to her preoccupation with the court case.

Rooney indicated that she has had no contact with Vardy since the trial concluded in 2022. Vardy, meanwhile, has publicly stated that she will never apologize to Rooney, asserting in her June ITV reality series that Rooney was in the wrong. "Hell will freeze over before I do that. I'm living with the judgment the judge made but, still to this day, I believe she was wrong," Vardy said.