Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney: A timeline of Wagatha Christie as ITV's The Vardys drags it back up
Rebekah and Coleen ended up in a High Court battle over a tweetRebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s Wagatha Christie saga has been brought back into the spotlight thanks to ITV reality show The Vardys – but what exactly happened between them?
The two WAGs went head to head in a very dramatic court case several years ago, although Rebekah is adamant it was “not in the public interest”.
Speaking about the drama, the mum-of-five says in her new show The Vardys: “Like, it wasn’t in the public interest.
“It just gave the media and the public something to talk about relentlessly. It was almost a trial by the public and the media before it even got to court.”
Here, we unpick exactly what happened between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney. It was handbags at dawn!
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney: 9 October 2019
Coleen Rooney shocks the nation with a bombshell post on Twitter, now called X. The wife of England legend Wayne explained how she had launched a sting operation to work out ‘who’ was leaking stories to The Sun about her.
In the most iconic sign off of the century, Coleen wrote: “I saved and screenshotted all the original [Instagram] stories which clearly shows just one person has viewed them.
“It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
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Rebekah hit back and denied the allegation.
She wrote online: “I’m not being funny but I don’t need the money, what would I gain from selling stories on you?
“I liked you a lot Coleen and I’m so upset that you have chosen to do this, especially when I’m heavily pregnant. I’m disgusted that I’m even having to deny this.”
BBC broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire stated that Rebekah had instructed lawyers to carry out “forensic investigation” on her own Instagram account. She hoped it would determine if anyone else had access to it.
Coleen’s attempt at detective work earned her the nickname Wagatha Christie by fans.
June 23, 2020: Rebekah launches lawsuit
Rebekah Vardy launches a £1million High Court defamation lawsuit against Coleen Rooney.
Coleen’s lawyer Paul Lunt said in response: “It is disappointing that Mrs Vardy has chosen to issue court proceedings. Coleen feels that the time and money involved could be put to better use – her offer to meet face to face still stands.”
At the time, the Daily Star predicted: “It will be one of the most explosive celebrity feuds heard in London’s High Court.”
This has been a burden in my life for a few years now and finally I have got to the bottom of it…… pic.twitter.com/0YqJAoXuK1
— Coleen Rooney (@ColeenRoo) October 9, 2019
November 20, 2020
The libel case gets underway at the High Court with an initial hearing. Mr Justice Warby says he largely agreed with Rebekah’s lawyers.
He says Coleen’s message would be read by an “ordinary reader” as a clear allegation that she personally had “frequently abused her status as a trusted follower of Ms Rooney’s personal Instagram account”.
It’s deemed 1-0 to Rebekah at this stage in the proceedings.
June 18, 2021
Rebekah and Coleen return to London’s High Court for their next hearing. The court hears the parties tried to hold “peace talks”, but the talks broke down.
Rebekah’s lawyers apply to strike out parts of Coleen’s defence in advance of the trial.
It’s heard Rebekah has “suffered widespread abuse and hostility” as a result of the post and that her children have been “abused at school”.
Rebekah this week explains in The Vardys that her children had to “go to school with bin bags on the car windows”.
July 7, 2021
Mrs Justice Steyn makes several rulings on the upcoming trial. She describes Rebekah’s close relationship with The Sun as one of the “building blocks” of the case.
February 8, 2022
Rebekah and Coleen return to the High Court and the drama really gets going. Lawyers read out “explosive messages”.
The court hears Caroline Watt, Rebekah Vardy’s agent, had accidentally dropped her phone in the sea while on a boat trip in Scotland shortly after Coleen’s lawyers had asked to search it.
The judge refused to add Caroline to the case, insisting it would “delay” the main trial.
May 10, 2022: Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s trial starts
The big day arrives. Rebekah and Coleen come face-to-face at the High Court as the defamation trial begins.
The court hears that Caroline Watt dropped her phone when the boat she was on hit a wave, raising questions about her missing phone again.
Coleen’s lawyer remarks: “What terrible luck.”
May 16 to 19, 2022
The defamation trial continues to play out in London, with both WAGs in attendance. The court hears Rebekah and Caroline had referred to Coleen as “attention seeking” and “nasty” in messages.
Rebekah’s lawyer says they had been referring to someone else.
The court also hears that then England manager Roy Hodgson told Coleen’s husband, Wayne Rooney, to get Jamie Vardy to “calm down” his wife.
According to reports from court, Wayne allegedly watched Coleen turn into a “different mother” and “a different wife”.
Rebekah walks out of the trial on the final day. It comes as Coleen’s barrister describes her as a “highly unreliable witness”.
May 20, 2022
The court releases an agreed 313-page bundle of evidence, including pictures from Coleen’s Instagram account.
July 29, 2022: Rebekah loses her case against Coleen
The Wagatha Christie trial ends. Mrs Justice Steyn dismisses Rebekah’s defamation claim.
October 7, 2024
Rebekah and Coleen’s lawyers return to court almost five years to the day since the saga began.
Over the course of three days, Rebekah’s lawyers dispute the £1.8 million legal bill. Rebekah had been ordered to pay 90 per cent of Coleen’s legal costs. Her lawyers want the amount reduced.
But a judge rules it was “not an appropriate case” to reduce the bill.
Read more: Rebekah and Jamie Vardy’s burglary caught on camera in ITV reality show
