Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s infamous Wagatha Christie row is back in the headlines thanks to ITV’s new reality series The Vardys.
Years after it first gripped the nation, viewers are once again being reminded of the fallout between the two footballers’ wives.
The high profile dispute ended up in court and became one of the most talked about celebrity legal battles in recent memory.
Rebekah has continued to insist the case should never have attracted such intense attention.
Speaking in her new show The Vardys, Rebekah says: “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.”
From the social media post that sparked it all to the courtroom showdown that followed, here’s a look back at exactly how the Wagatha Christie saga unfolded.
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney: 9 October 2019
Coleen Rooney stunned the public with a dramatic post on Twitter, now known as X. Wayne Rooney’s wife revealed she had carried out her own investigation to discover who was leaking stories about her to The Sun.
In a sign off that quickly became iconic, 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.”
Rebekah immediately denied the accusation.
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 later revealed that Rebekah had instructed lawyers to carry out a “forensic investigation” into her Instagram account. The aim was to establish whether anyone else had access to it.
Coleen’s detective style approach quickly earned her the nickname Wagatha Christie.
June 23, 2020: Rebekah launches lawsuit
Rebekah Vardy launches a £1million High Court defamation claim against Coleen Rooney.
Responding at the time, Coleen’s lawyer Paul Lunt said: “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.”
The Daily Star predicted the dispute would become one of the most explosive celebrity feuds ever heard at 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 battle begins at the High Court with an initial hearing. Mr Justice Warby says he largely agrees with arguments put forward by Rebekah’s legal team.
He says Coleen’s post would be understood by an “ordinary reader” as a clear allegation she had “frequently abused her status as a trusted follower of Ms Rooney’s personal Instagram account”.
At that stage, it appeared to be an early victory for Rebekah.
June 18, 2021
Rebekah and Coleen return to London’s High Court for another hearing. The court hears that attempts to resolve the dispute through “peace talks” had failed.
Rebekah’s legal team applies to remove parts of Coleen’s defence before trial.
The court hears Rebekah had suffered “widespread abuse and hostility” following the post and that her children had also faced abuse at school.
In The Vardys, which airs again tonight, Rebekah says her children had to “go to school with bin bags on the car windows”.
July 7, 2021
Mrs Justice Steyn makes several rulings ahead of the trial. She describes Rebekah’s close relationship with The Sun as one of the case’s key “building blocks”.
February 8, 2022
The pair return to the High Court and the case takes another dramatic turn as lawyers read out what are described as “explosive messages”.
The court hears that Caroline Watt, Rebekah Vardy’s agent, accidentally dropped her phone into the sea during a boat trip in Scotland shortly after Coleen’s legal team requested access to it.
The judge refuses an application to add Caroline to the case, saying it would delay the trial.
May 10, 2022: Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney’s trial starts
The highly anticipated trial begins as Rebekah and Coleen come face to face in court.
The issue of Caroline Watt’s missing phone returns, with the court hearing it was lost when a boat hit a wave.
Coleen’s lawyer responds: “What terrible luck.”
May 16 to 19, 2022
As the trial continues, both women attend court as further details emerge.
The court hears that Rebekah and Caroline exchanged messages describing Coleen as “attention seeking” and “nasty”.
Rebekah’s barrister argues they were discussing someone else.
The court also hears that then England manager Roy Hodgson told Wayne Rooney to ask Jamie Vardy to “calm down” his wife.
Reports from court claim Wayne watched Coleen become “a different mother” and “a different wife” during the saga.
On the final day, Rebekah leaves court after Coleen’s barrister describes her as a “highly unreliable witness”.
May 20, 2022
The court publishes an agreed 313 page bundle of evidence, including material taken from Coleen’s Instagram account.
July 29, 2022: Rebekah loses her case against Coleen
The Wagatha Christie trial reaches its conclusion as Mrs Justice Steyn dismisses Rebekah Vardy’s defamation claim.
October 7, 2024
Almost five years after the original post, the dispute returns to court.
Across three days of hearings, Rebekah’s legal team challenges the £1.8 million legal bill. Rebekah had been ordered to pay 90 per cent of Coleen’s costs and wanted the amount reduced.
However, the judge rules that it was “not an appropriate case” for a reduction.
The legal battle may be over. But The Vardys has put the spotlight firmly back on one of Britain’s most talked about celebrity feuds.
For many viewers, it remains a saga that continues to fascinate years after it first began.
Read more: Rebekah Vardy recalls the moment her ‘biggest fear’ became a reality as £2m family home was burgled
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