The long-awaited verdict in the ‘Wagatha Christie’ trial for libel in which… Coleen Rooney (36) and Rebekah Vardy (40) is due today.
The verdict will be pronounced on Friday at noon by Mrs. Justice Steyn.
The Indo Daily: Wagatha Christie – Explosive revelations in the trial of Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy
The events leading up to the trial and the trial itself made it one of the most talked about and compelling celebrity sagas in recent memory.
Even the most devoted followers can be forgiven for missing out on certain details, so here’s a recap of the real soap opera’s biggest moments.
1. How it started
On October 9, 2019, Coleen Rooney, wife of former Man United captain Wayne Rooney, sent social media to a frenzy when she posted a message on Twitter accusing Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, of the leak. from personal information about her to the British tabloid, The sun.
Ms Rooney said she suspected that one of her private Instagram followers was passing information to the newspaper, which could only be seen on her Instagram posts. She blocked all her other followers and over the course of a few months started posting fake stories to see if they would appear in print.
In a series of tweets on that faithful October day, Ms Rooney wrote: “You know what, they did it!”
“I saved all the original stories and took screenshots, which clearly show that only one person watched them. It’s… Rebekah Vardy.”
Ms Vardy, then pregnant with her fifth child, denied the allegations, saying that several people had access to her Instagram over the years.
She claimed to be “so upset” by Ms Rooney’s accusation and later added, “I thought she was my girlfriend but she completely destroyed me.”
The public dispute made headlines around the world, with the hashtag #WagathaChristie trending.
2.The Escalation:
In February of that year, during a tearful performance on ITV’s Loose Women, Ms Vardy said the stress of the dispute was causing her severe anxiety attacks and that she ” ended up in hospital three times”.
Ms Rooney released a statement saying she did not “want to get involved in further public debate”.
In June of that year, it emerged that Ms. Vardy had initiated libel proceedings against Ms. Rooney.
Ms Vardy’s lawyers claimed she suffered “extreme distress, pain, fear and embarrassment as a result of the posting of the post and the events that followed”.
Rebekah and Jamie Vardy arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney continues. Date photo: Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
3. Pre-trial Hearings
A series of explosive messages between Ms Vardy and her agent Caroline Watt – which Ms Rooney’s lawyers claim were about her – were revealed during a preliminary court hearing in February this year.
The court is told that Mrs. Vardy was not referring to Mrs. Rooney when she called someone a “nasty bitch” in a conversation with Mrs. Watt.
Ms Rooney’s lawyers are seeking more information from the WhatsApp messages, but the court is told Ms Watt’s phone fell in the North Sea after a boat she was on hit a wave before more information could be extracted from it. .
In April, the court is told that Ms Watt is not fit to testify orally at the upcoming libel trial as the case returns for another hearing.
The agent has revoked permission to use her witness statement and is withdrawing her waiver that would have allowed Sun journalists to say whether she was a source of the allegedly leaked stories.
Ms Vardy “later appears to accept” that her agent was the source of allegedly leaked stories, Ms Rooney’s attorney David Sherborne told the Supreme Court.
He argued that a new testimony from Ms. Vardy suggests that Ms. Watt was the source, but Ms. Vardy claims she “did not authorize or approve her”.
Ms Vardy’s attorney Hugh Tomlinson said the statement contained “no change in the case argued” and that her legal team had no communication with Ms Watt.
4.The Path Begins
On May 10, Ms Vardy and Ms Rooney come face to face in court as the trial of their libel takes place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London before Ms Steyn. Both women testify as revelations about the case make daily headlines in the press.
For three days, Mrs. Vardy was put to the test by Mrs. Rooney’s legal eagle David Sherborne, who repeatedly accused Mrs. Vardy of “lying” under oath.
“You’re not making this up, Mrs. Vardy?” and “That’s a lie, isn’t it?” he stated on numerous occasions.
‘No, I’m definitely not lying,’ replied Mrs Vardy, changing tact at one point, taking advantage of Mr Sherborne.
Speaking to Ms. Watt, Rebekah Vardy said, “To be honest, I can’t remember.”
“I’d rather you be honest, because you’re on a witness stand in a trial,” Mr Sherborne replied.
5.The chipolata commentary by Peter Andre
At a regrettable and unforgettable moment in the process, pop star Peter Andre was dragged back into the limelight when Mrs. Rooney’s lawyer tried to prove that Mrs. Vardy apparently had no respect for people’s privacy.
“Peter hung like a little chipolata, shaved, drooling, lasts five minutes,” Mr. Sherborne said, reading the headline from a 2004 News of The World interview with Ms. Vardy, in which she discussed her longtime relationship with Mr. Andre. discussed.
He continued to read excerpts of the article aloud in the courtroom, where Ms. Vardy was quoted as saying that Peter had “the tiniest trouser outfit I’ve ever seen”.
Ms Vardy later described the interview as one of her “biggest regrets”, while Peter Andre bounced back on the comments, telling his Instagram followers: “Do you know how hard it is to keep biting my lip about situations?
“At least she’s now admitted it wasn’t true. And was forced to say it.”
Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney continues. Date photo: Monday 16 May 2022.
6.The Davy Jones Reference
While Mrs. Vardy charged with destroyed key evidence, Mrs. Rooney’s attorney made a nautical reference that flew over Mrs. Vardy’s head.
On day three of the trial, Mr Sherborne said messages on her agent’s phone could not be retrieved because they were “now in Davy Jones’ Locker”.
A stunned Rebekah Vardy answered sincerely “who is Davy Jones?”, which in turn prompted the judge, Ms. Justice Steyn, to clarify that the phrase refers to the bottom of the sea.
7. ‘Arguing with Coleen Rooney would be like arguing with a pigeon’
After Ms. Rooney’s big reveal post in 2019, Rebekah Vardy gave an explosive interview with the Daily mailwhich was read in court.
“Debating with Coleen Rooney would be like arguing with a pigeon. You can say you’re right and it’s wrong, but it’ll still make your hair tick,” Ms Vardy told the Daily Mail.
Speaking in court, she rowed back somewhat on the comments, saying: “At the time, I spoke to… [the Daily Mail journalist] I didn’t know what to think, I didn’t know what to believe… I didn’t think straight the day after this happened.”
After the 2019 post, Ms. Rooney shared a separate message with her private Instagram followers: “Don’t play games with a girl who can play better.”
Referring to the notice in court, Ms Rooney said, “I felt like I had found out who it was… It was a quote I found, and I posted it, and it was just something I did.”
8. Rooney takes the stand
The process inevitably brought England’s two Euro 2016 strikers into the limelight, but in opposing camps.
Wayne Rooney said on the stand that he was asked to have an “awkward” conversation with Jamie Vardy about his wife. He said England manager Roy Hodgson wanted Rebekah Vardy to “calm down” her media activity during the tournament.
“So I agreed to talk to Mr. Vardy…to ask him to ask his wife to calm down,” he said.
However, Ms Vardy’s legal team denies that the conversation ever took place, to which Wayne Rooney replied, “I’m under oath here. I have spoken 100 percent to Mr. Vardy about this situation.”
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, for the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney. Date photo: Friday 13 May 2022.
9. ‘Wayne Talks Nonsense’
The Leicester City goalscorer, who only came to court the day Wayne Rooney spoke, did not take the situation to his death and made a heated statement outside the courthouse, accusing Rooney of “talking nonsense”.
“Wayne is talking nonsense. He must be confused as he has never spoken to me about anything related to Becky’s media work at Euro 2016,” said Jamie Vardy.
After the breakup, both Vardys left court early, with Ms. Vardy’s legal team saying it was because she wasn’t “feeling very well.”
10.Vardy-Watt Message Released
Some of the highly anticipated messages between Ms Vardy and her agent Caroline Watt were revealed in court. After Coleen Rooney’s infamous Twitter post, Ms Watt sent the tweets to Ms Vardy saying “Send her a message now and ask what the f*** this is x”.
“Wow, that’s war x”, replied Mrs Vardy.
“You’ll have to say you don’t talk about her to anyone, but your Instagram recently even started following people you don’t follow… Just say you gave a company access to it for sponsored posts and a former social media agency that also worked with Ms Watt added.