I’m A Celebrity 2026 star Wayne Rooney reveals Coleen’s jungle advice and why his sons are ‘worried’
Wife Coleen was runner-up in 2024I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Wayne Rooney has revealed the advice wife Coleen gave him before he followed her into
the jungle, and admitted his older sons are worried he’ll embarrass them.
The former England and Manchester United captain is one of 11 celebrities in this year’s line-up. Coleen finished runner-up in 2024.
And the 41-year-old says it’s the only reality show he’s ever wanted to do.
What Coleen told him
Coleen has passed on some advice, but Wayne is determined to do things his own way.
“She has told me a bit of advice and I’ve had friends that have been in it as well,” he said. “But I suppose you have to experience it yourself, don’t you? I’m just looking forward to experiencing it in my own way.”
He says Coleen is proud of him for signing up. “I think because she has done it, she knows what it is, so she knows how difficult it is as well. It will be nice for her to sit down and be invested in it.”
Read more: I’m A Celebrity 2026: The big rumoured name missing from the official line-up
His sons are worried he’ll embarrass them
Wayne and Coleen have four sons, and he admits they’re not all equally excited.
“The younger two are very excited,” he said. “I think my older two are worried that I will embarrass them. I tend to do that a lot when their friends come round and I think they are more worried about me embarrassing them!”
He’s also warned his campmates to expect pranks. “I do like to play pranks and I’m sure the young ones in there will be involved in that!”
‘It’s the show to do’
Wayne said the timing finally worked out this year.
“It’s a show I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “Me and Coleen would sit there watching and we both always said: ‘If we were going to do one, it’s the show to do.'”
He joked: “Coleen did it a couple of years ago and then this year it came about because of the way it fell, me not being great as a manager!”
He’s never been to Australia
The jungle will be Wayne’s first trip to Australia. Work commitments meant he couldn’t meet Coleen on the famous I’m A Celebrity bridge when she left camp.
“I’ve never been to Australia,” he explained. “I was meant to go once. We were on a tour with Manchester United and I got injured in Thailand, so I flew home.”
Wayne Rooney’s biggest fear
Wayne’s biggest fear is jumping out of a helicopter, after failing to go through with a skydive three times.
“Jumping out of a helicopter is a big fear. But I hope I do that, because then I will have conquered that fear,” he said. “Snakes? I don’t like them, if I’m honest.”
Read more: I’m A Celebrity 2026: Each campmate’s biggest phobia
Are Wayne and Coleen Rooney still together?
Yes. Wayne and Coleen have been married since 2008, when they wed in Portofino, Italy, and in their 2026 Disney+ documentary, The Real Rooneys, both said they still love each other. Wayne says Coleen is proud of him for signing up for the jungle.
Coleen made headlines in 2022 when she won the Wagatha Christie libel trial brought by Rebekah Vardy. Two years later, she finished runner-up on I’m A Celebrity behind Danny Jones.
How old were Wayne and Coleen when they got together?
Wayne and Coleen grew up in Croxteth, Liverpool, and first met as children in the same group of friends. Coleen was 12 at the time.
They started dating in 2002, when they were both 16, and married six years later at the age of 22.
Read more: I’m A Celebrity 2026 campmate making historic jungle first
What happened between Wayne and Coleen Rooney?
Their marriage has been tested in public several times.
In 2004, Wayne admitted that as a teenager he had visited massage parlours and sex workers, saying: “Foolish as it now seems I did on occasions visit massage parlours and prostitutes.”
Then in 2010, after newspaper reports about his private life while she was pregnant with Kai, Coleen moved back in with her parents for a time before the couple reconciled.
Some seven years later, in 2017, Wayne pleaded guilty to drink-driving after being stopped in a woman’s car in Wilmslow. He was banned from driving for two years and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work. The couple spent time apart afterwards.
In 2021, Wayne apologised for what he called a “mistake” after photos emerged of him in a hotel room with a group of young women. There was no suggestion of wrongdoing.
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Why did Coleen stay with Wayne?
Coleen has spoken about her decision several times. In 2017, after Wayne’s drink-driving arrest, she addressed rumours of a divorce in a statement on her Facebook page. “I know I would be fine on my own, with just me and my children, but I don’t want to live like that,” she wrote. “If I didn’t [love Wayne] then I wouldn’t be trying to make it work.”
In Wayne’s 2022 Amazon Prime documentary, Rooney, she said of his past behaviour: “I forgive him but it wasn’t acceptable.”
And in her 2023 Disney+ series, Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, she suggested the love between them is what has kept them together. “If the love is gone then, you know, it’s pointless,” she said.
Most recently, the couple opened up about their marriage in their 2026 Disney+ documentary, The Real Rooneys. Coleen admitted she has wondered whether they should separate, saying: “There’s times where I think, is the answer to see what it’s like if we were separated?”
But she added: “We still care for each other, we still have good times. You know, we still love each other.”
Wayne said: “You have difficult moments in any marriage, and then you find a way of getting through those tough times.”
How many children does Wayne Rooney have?
Wayne and Coleen have four sons: Kai, 17, Klay, 13, Kit, 10, and Cass, eight.
Kai is on a scholarship at Manchester United’s academy, and Klay is also on the club’s books.
Wayne Rooney’s football career
Wayne is Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer, with 253 goals for the club. He was also England’s record goalscorer until Harry Kane overtook him in 2023.
After retiring as a player, he managed Derby County, DC United, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle. He now works as a pundit, including on Match of the Day, and hosts his own podcast.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! starts Monday, November 16 at 9pm on ITV1, STV, ITVX & STV Player.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI technology to synthesise source reporting and structured data. It has been reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by our human editorial team before publication.
