The infamous libel trial between footballers wives Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney is finally set to begin today, two years after a shocking Twitter revelation stunned the nation. Mrs Rooney accused Mrs Vardy of leaking “false stories” about her private life to the media in October 2019, after she said she carried out a months-long “sting operation”.
The wife of former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was dubbed “Wagatha Christie” when she publicly claimed her fellow footballer’s wife shared three fake stories she had posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper. These stories included Mrs Rooney travelling to Mexico for a “gender selection” procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home.
In a shocking revelation, Mrs Rooney revealed on Twitter: “I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s ………. Rebekah Vardy’s account.” However, Mrs Vardy - wife of Leicester player Jamie Vardy - has vehemently denied the accusations and claimed that they are defamatory, suing Mrs Rooney for libel.
The trial, which follows months of preliminary hearings, begins today at the High Court in London. You can follow live updates from the trial by clicking here.
But with so much media attention focused around the case, along with a number of allegations, revelations and different key players, it can be difficult to keep up with it all. Here's everything you need to know about the case as the trial gets underway:
How did it start?
The case began on October 9, 2019 when Mrs Rooney accused Mrs Vardy of leaking stories to the press. On Twitter, the wife of the former England captain revealed that she had she carried out a months-long “sting operation" to find out who had been selling fake stories about her personal life to the media.
She publicly claimed her fellow footballer’s wife shared three fake stories she had posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper. To allegedly catch her out, she had posted fake stories to her Instagram, blocking "everybody but one person" to see if they would appear in the paper.
After these false tales appeared in the press, Mrs Rooney - who was later dubbed 'WAGatha Christie' - dramatically revealed on Twitter that there must be one person behind the leaks. She accused Mrs Vardy, wife of Leicester City player Jamie Vardy, of selling her private stories to the press "for a few years".
She tweeted: "This has been a burden in my life for a few years now and I have finally gotten to the bottom of it. For a few years now someone who I trusted to follow me on my personal Instagram account has been consistently informing The S*n newspaper of my private posts and stories.
"There has been so much information given to them about me, my friends and my family - all without my permission or knowledge. After a long time of trying to figure out who it could be, for various reasons, I had a suspicion.
"It's been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know for certain which account it's come from. I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them.
"It's.... Rebekah Vardy's account."
What were the leaked 'false stories'?
These are the three “false” stories Coleen Rooney claims to have planted on her private Instagram account as part of a months-long “sting operation” to catch out Rebekah Vardy.
The gender selection article
Mrs Rooney claims to have posted the first of her “sting operation” posts about a so-called gender-selection treatment on April 8 2019. The post featured a photograph of the back seat of an airplane overlaid with the text “Let’s go and see what this gender selection is all about”, Mrs Rooney claims.
She alleges that the invented post was marked on Instagram as “seen” only by Mrs Vardy’s account, her lawyers have told the High Court. In August that year, the Sun published an article claiming Mrs Rooney travelled to Mexico to look into the treatment.
TV decisions article
A private “false” post about planning a return to TV is made on September 25 2019, Mrs Rooney claims. She says it featured a “selfie” and the text “Up and out!! Easing my way back into work!! TV decisions today…. maybe it’s time for Australia”. Mrs Rooney’s lawyers claimed in her High Court defence that the post was only accessible by Mrs Vardy’s account.
Three days later, a Sun article under Michael Hamilton’s byline was published under the headline “ROO-MBA Coleen Rooney in talks to join Strictly next year as she looks to revive TV career when Wayne returns to UK”.
The flooded basement article
Mrs Rooney says she shared false information about her basement being flooded on October 2 2019, the third “sting operation” post. Her lawyers have again alleged to the High Court that the post was only accessible to Mrs Vardy’s account.
On October 8, The Sun published a story, with Simon Boyle’s byline, headlined: “IN ROO-INS Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s £20million ‘Morrisons mansion’ flooded during Storm Lorenzo”. The article, quoting a “source close to the couple”, claimed to reveal that bad weather had “wreaked havoc” at a Cheshire property, with Mrs Rooney being “called in to find the cellar had been flooded”.
How did Rebekah Vardy respond?
In response to the claims, eight months later, Mrs Vardy decided to sue Mrs Rooney for libel under the Defamation Act 2013. Mrs Vardy has claimed that the accusations, which she vehemently denies, are defamatory.
She said that the statement has damaged her reputation and wrongly exposed her to public contempt, making it libellous. Mrs Vardy has said the accusations had caused her to become the subject of "widespread abuse" and that her children were also being "abused" at their schools.
What has happened in court so far?
The libel trial had its first High Court hearing in London in November 2020. The judge, Mr Justice Warby, ruled that Mrs Rooney's post "clearly identified" Mrs Vardy as being "guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust". and concluded that the "natural and ordinary" meaning of the posts was that Mrs Vardy had "regularly and frequently abused her status as a trusted follower of Mrs Rooney's personal Instagram account by secretly informing The Sun of Mrs Rooney's private posts and stories".
When the case returned to the High Court for a preliminary hearing in February 2022, a series of explosive messages between Mrs Vardy and her agent Caroline Watt - which Mrs Rooney's lawyers allege were about her - were revealed. In one exchange with Ms Watt, Mrs Vardy called someone a "nasty b**ch* and a "c***" but denied in court that she was talking about Mrs Rooney.
Mrs Rooney's lawyers requested further information from the WhatsApp messages, but the court was later told that Ms Watt's phone fell into the North Sea after a boat she was on hit a wave, before further information could be extracted from it. This was referred to as one of a "series of unfortunate events" over the evidence in the case by Mrs Rooney's barrister.
In April, the High Court was told by Mrs Rooney's barrister that Mrs Vardy "appears to accept" that her agent was the source of the allegedly leaked stories, arguing that a new witness statement submitted by Mrs Vardy suggested Ms Watt was the source but Mrs Vardy claims she "did not authorise or condone her". However, Mrs Vardy's lawyer Hugh Tomlinson said the statement did not contain "any change whatever in the pleaded case", with her legal team having no communication with Ms Watt.
Read more: Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney net worth: How much are they worth and how they make their money
What does Coleen Rooney have to prove?
Under British defamation laws, the burden of proof will be on Mrs Rooney to prove her post was “substantially true”. She will have to prove Rebekah was behind the leaks directly or she knew her agent Caroline Watt, may have been to blame.
What does Rebekah Vardy have to say?
Mrs Vardy has always denied being the source behind the fake stories, but now "appears to accept" that her agent may have been responsible for the leaked articles. At a previous hearing, it emerged that other people had had access to her Instagram account, including Ms Watt.
Ms Watt had been due to give evidence in the trial but was recently found to be “not fit” to take part, and also withdrew her written evidence. Mrs Vardy’s lawyer said they “don’t know what the true position is in relation to Ms Watt… she’s not communicating with anybody.”
Who is representing who?
Mrs Rooney is represented by David Sherborne QC. Mr Sherborne has a reputation as the barrister the rich and famous turn to for legal assistance, with his previous client list including Diana, Princess of Wales, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas and former prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. He is also no stranger to high-profile libel trials at the Royal Courts of Justice, notably representing Johnny Depp in the actor's 2020 libel claim against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN).
He is up against Hugh Tomlinson QC, representing Mrs Vardy. An experienced media barrister, Mr Tomlinson's previous clients include the Prince of Wales in his legal battle against the Mail on Sunday over his diaries, as well as footballer Ryan Giggs and oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Who is going to win?
Legal experts say Mrs Vardy may have an edge before the trial gets underway, but insist that “it’s all to play for”. She previously rejected Mrs Rooney's offer of a "drop hands" settlement, which may suggest she believes she can win the case.
There is a chance her legal team will seize on the Rooneys' decision to invite cameras into their home for a recent Amazon Prime documentary, which they may claim illustrates that she is happy to put details about her private life into the public domain. However, the likely big winners from this trial is set to be the lawyers, with legal costs estimated to be around £3 million so far.
