Coleen and Wayne Rooney will mark 15 years of marriage next week.
The childhood sweethearts met as teenagers in Croxteth and married in Italy in 2008, when they were both 22-years-old. Having retired as a player in 2021 after a storied career with Everton, Manchester United and England, Wayne is now working in America as the manager of D.C. United.
Meanwhile, Coleen remains at their £20 million Cheshire home with children Kai, 13, Klay, 10, Kit, seven, and Cass, five. Though their marriage has had several highly-publicised tests, the two approach the milestone with their relationship intact.
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As reported by Notebook magazine, here are 15 life lessons from Coleen as her marriage approaches 15 years.
1. Forgive… but never forget
Coleen is the first to admit Wayne has tested her patience over the years.
Speaking after he was charged with drink driving after being stopped by police with fellow party-goer Laura Simpson in 2017, the mum of four said she could forgive, but would never forget. “Forgiveness, I’d say, is different,” she said in the Rooney documentary. “It’s not acceptable what he’s done but it’s happened and that was a stage of life that we were in at the time. But we’ve moved on.”
2. Money isn’t everything
Though the Rooneys have a global property portfolio, reportedly being worth upwards of a staggering £100m, the couple maintain that cash isn’t what makes their family content. “Not everything in our life is money related,” Coleen once explained. “People think when you earn a lot of money everything is fine. Yes there are advantages, but this isn’t everything in life and it doesn’t always make people happy.”
3. Trust your family
Growing up, Coleen was incredibly close to her boxing gym-manager dad Tony McLoughlin, and part-time cleaner mum Colette.
Given their bond, it’s no surprise she sought comfort back in the arms of her parents during the most difficult times in her marriage. “Obviously I listen to the people that matter to me, my mum and dad always give me a positive outlook on things,” she revealed on the Amazon Prime documentary Rooney. “There’s nothing that we can’t deal with and that’s my way in a situation - let’s sit down and see what we can do - and can we make it work? And we have.”
4. Never forget where you came from
“I’ll always be the girl from Liverpool, but my life has changed in so many ways,” Coleen explains. And despite spending their early married years jetting all over the world on exotic holidays, both she and Wayne have never forgotten their strong Liverpool roots and never take their good fortune for granted.
“Sometimes Wayne will sit there and say: ‘I can’t believe it’,” Coleen wrote in her autobiography, Welcome To My world. “But you don’t take it for granted. If either of us did, we’d say something.”
5. Be persistent
Wayne was a determined footballer and it’s clearly a trait that was reflected in his personal life.
“I knew that I wanted to go out with her, wanted to marry her,” Wayne recalled [in the Amazon Prime doc]. “I said to her at the time when we grow up we’re going to get married and you’re going to have our kids”.
According to Coleen - who was just 12 when she first met Wayne - she was initially wary of accepting his later requests for a date but he persisted.
6. Surround yourself with good people
Coleen and Wayne have remained incredibly close to many of the friends they had as youngsters.
“People are everything, and people are what make me the happiest in life,” Coleen reveals. Wayne’s cousin Claire Rooney has been Coleen’s best friend since the pair were small.
“We surround ourselves with friends and family who are genuine, kind and caring people,” she says.
7. 'Do to others what you would have them do to you'
Coleen’s strong religious faith and moral compass have helped guide her life and she’s keen to pass those traits onto her own boys.
Paraphrasing a Bible verse, Coleen explains, “I always say to my children don’t do or say to others what you wouldn’t like done or said to yourself or your loved ones.”
8. Make your own money
Coleen has been incredibly savvy with her profile, ensuring she has financial security with or without Wayne. She’s rumoured to be worth around £14m, accumulated through a number of lucrative contracts and other ventures such as her exercise DVD and four-book fashion series.
In 2008 she signed a £500,000 deal to create a jewellery range for Argos, followed by a £2m clothing deal contract with Littlewoods.
9. Keep away from excess alcohol
Following Wayne's drink drive conviction in 2017, his wife was quick to put some of the blame on the bottle.
“In life you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Coleen reflected. “But one thing I do know is that too much alcohol on a night out is dangerous and a lot of stupid mistakes are made and things are said under the influence. I would never trust anyone who has had a lot of alcohol, it changes some people drastically.”
10. Remember that people can change
Speaking about the more turbulent times in her marriage with Wayne, Coleen insists he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
After being photographed without her wedding ring following a particularly tumultuous time, the business mogul demonstrated her seemingly endless patience, saying: “He’s made silly and selfish mistakes, some he’s learnt from, some obviously not. However maybe that will change?"
11. Keep the family unit strong
The Rooneys are devoted parents to Kai, Klay, Kit and Cass, regularly sharing photos of their special moments on social media.
Coleen once said: “I know I would be fine on my own, with just me and my children, but I don’t want to live like that, I want to try and continue our marriage and live as a family.”
12. Remember that life is short
Coleen lost her younger sister in 2013. Rosie, who died at the age of 14, had Rett Syndrome, which is a brain development disorder.
Now the couple give back to various charities, with Coleen regularly supporting the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and Charity which helped care for her little sister.
13. Mind your own business
Like most people, Coleen turns to those closest to her, especially her parents, who have “always given me a positive outlook on things.”
However, she doesn't relish advice from everyone. She said: “You have so many people saying different things to you. ‘Oh why is she getting back with him?’. When you’re making those decisions you’ve got to focus on what you want and not other people.”
14. Confront problems head on
Not a lot gets past Coleen, as proved by the Wagatha Christie scandal which ended up in the English High Court in summer 2022 with Rebekah Vardy suing her fellow WAG for defamation.
After the judge ruled in her favour, Coleen made it clear she is not one to back down from a fight, explaining that attempts to avoid “such a drawn out and public court case” were knocked back by Rebekah, leaving her with “no alternative but to go through with the case to defend myself and to end the repeated leaking of my private information”.
15. Listen to your Priest
Coleen has continued to seek solace in the Catholic church.
At the couple’s marriage ceremony in the Italian Riviera, they received a few poignant words from their Catholic priest. “The future will have its ups and its disappointments, its successes and failures, its pleasures and pains, its joys and sorrows,” Father Edward Quinn told them.
“The love you have for each other will bind you together for life in a relationship that will influence your whole future.”
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