Coleen Rooney reveals how she went about Wagatha sting
Coleen Rooney recently had a conversation with the team at BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. The video accompanying the interview was produced by Sophie van Brugen.
Coleen Rooney has shared further information about her investigative efforts in 2019, which were dubbed the Wagatha Christie investigation.
According to Rooney's statements, she had a feeling that Rebekah Vardy was responsible for leaking confidential details about her to the media outlet, the Sun. This suspicion stemmed from Vardy's pre-existing ties with the said publication.
She stated that she was aware her companions in Liverpool would refuse to collaborate with the Sun newspaper because of the town's prolonged rejection of it.
Vardy refused to admit to sharing stories and took legal action against Rooney for defamation, however, she was unsuccessful in her court case.
Four years ago, Rooney made a post on Instagram and Twitter (now X) that gained significant attention. In this post, she revealed the individual who she believed was responsible for sharing private details about her to the media.
She made sure her privacy settings were secure so that only Vardy's account could see the untrue stories she was sharing. Eventually, the stories were published in the Sun newspaper, and Rooney publicly accused Vardy of sharing the information.
During her recent appearance on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Rooney revealed that she had a hunch Vardy might be involved, given that Vardy had previously worked with the Sun. To refine her suspicions, Rooney eliminated her family and friends from Liverpool as possible suspects.
Last year, Vardy, who is the spouse of soccer player Jamie, did not win her legal battle and was instructed to pay 90% of Rooney's legal expenses because a judge decided that Rooney's claim was "mostly accurate".
Rebekah Vardy was unsuccessful in her libel lawsuit against Rooney and has been directed to pay 90% of his legal expenses.
During an interview with Emma Barnett, Rooney, spouse of professional soccer player Wayne, expressed that it ultimately came down to the fact that the stories continued to surface, all originating from someone who had ties to the newspaper.
She clarified that she had observed that articles concerning Vardy were consistently popping up in the newspaper during her searches.
Rooney stated that she went over the list of people who follow her on Instagram and noticed a link between them. Upon investigating further, she discovered that many of them were followers of The Sun, a newspaper known for its exclusive content.
"However, I did receive WhatsApp messages from previous conversations with Vardy. Rebekah contacted me frequently, while I never initiated contact."
Rooney added that she and her fellow WAGs don't reside in close proximity to each other. They only share a connection through their husbands' limited opportunities to compete together for England. It's not like a regular football club where players gather frequently and get to interact frequently.
Occasionally, I reviewed the past messages and realized that they could potentially belong to her account since she expressed the desire to stay in contact. However, upon reading the messages, there was a sense that they were not entirely truthful or consistent with the situation.
According to Rooney, Vardy became aware of Rooney blocking her on the platform. Vardy subsequently reached out and inquired about the situation.
Rooney stated that she had previously blocked [Vardy]. However, Rebekah contacted her and inquired if she had been blocked.
I decided to follow her back and told her that the previous action must have been an error. Thus, I allowed her access to my account once again. Following that, I went ahead and created more bogus posts, and to my surprise, a select few even made it into the newspapers.
During her appearance on Woman's Hour, Coleen Rooney discussed the impact of being referred to as a Wag by many individuals, explaining how it makes her feel.
Rooney mentioned that she was able to reduce the number of potential suspects by considering the fact that no one from her Liverpool circle of family and friends would collaborate with the Sun.
The town has refused to support the newspaper for many years as a result of the manner in which they covered the Hillsborough tragedy in 1989, which led to the loss of 97 lives.
The article claimed that the crush was caused by the actions of Liverpool supporters, but in reality it was the result of insufficient stadium facilities, inadequate police management, and extremely overcrowded conditions.
Several newsstands in Liverpool choose not to sell the newspaper due to its reputation. Rooney verbalized that she is aware that her loved ones and acquaintances would absolutely decline to collaborate with the Sun.
"She mentioned that it's not something people from Liverpool would do," she stated.
Naturally, this caused many individuals to no longer be part of my follower base whom I might not have anticipated losing. Yet, this was a significant reason why they were no longer following me.
Nonetheless, the newspaper has previously conducted an interview with her spouse, Wayne Rooney. This resulted in an adverse reaction from individuals hailing from Liverpool.
The famous partner of football star Wayne Rooney, Coleen, is featured in a brand-new documentary on the streaming platform Disney+. The film delves into the infamous "Wagatha Christie" lawsuit.
Rooney's initial plan was to upload inaccurate details about herself on her private Instagram stories as a way to test which ones would get picked up by the media. She had two accounts on the platform - one public and another private.
Afterwards, she lessened the count of individuals who can view her confidential stories on Instagram and at last, settled on Vardy's account as the solitary viewer.
Following the spread of untrue accounts in the Sun, Rooney took to social media to clarify her actions. She also pointed the finger at Vardy, claiming that they were the source of the leaked information.
The scandal was immediately dubbed Wagatha Christie, which alludes to Wags - a word often associated with the partners of soccer players, as well as Agatha Christie, an acclaimed author known for her mystery books.
Disney+, a streaming service, has released a fresh documentary about the case.
During an interview with Radio 4, Rooney expressed his annoyance over someone leaking his personal details to a major newspaper. He further stated that the information was meant to be kept private and not for public consumption.
I didn't mind some of the stories being shared, but I strongly believed that it was unethical to expose someone's confidential details. That was the reason why I opposed such actions, as they shouldn't be happening at all.
She went on to say that she keeps her personal life private, which is very different from how the court case was publicly handled due to its legal nature.
In her own words, Rooney conveyed that the legal proceedings were among the most challenging experiences she has faced thus far. She expressed surprise at the matter escalating to the courtroom.
She expressed disbelief that a legal dispute could arise from the situation. She had no desire to participate in a court case and felt anxious because she had no prior experience with courtroom proceedings or legal conflicts.
