Rebekah Vardy has revealed the moment she asked Coleen Rooney: ‘What the f*** is this?’ following her now infamous Wagatha Christie post, in which she was accused of leaking a slew of stories about her WAG rival to the press.
The 40-year-old was enjoying a trip to Dubai when she saw Coleen, 36, had taken to social media to accuse her of leaking stories to the Sun newspaper following her own months-long ‘sting operation’, ending the post with the now immortal words: ‘It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
Speaking out today after refuting the claim and taking it to the High Court – sparking a sensational £3million libel battle, which she lost last week – the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, 35, said she was in shock upon reading the accusation.
However she extended an olive branch to Coleen, admitting that she would ‘take her to Cafe Nero’ for a coffee if she bumped into her in the street, as she is not one to ‘hold a grudge.’
Speaking to the Sun, Rebekah said Coleen had called her from a withheld number in the moments before openly accusing her on October 9, 2019.
She said: ‘All of a sudden my phone imploded. I had a missed call from a withheld number, but then she (Coleen) messaged me and said: ‘I’ve been trying to call you’.
‘I picked up the phone and called her and basically said, ‘What the f*** is this?’
‘I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face, I did not do it,’ Rebekah Vardy told TalkTV presenter Kate McCann in a teaser clip published this afternoon
At one point Mrs Vardy tells McCann ‘I’m going to try’ and puts her head in her hands. The presenter hosted last week’s Tory leadership debate before it had to be caused when she fainted
Rebekah Vardy (pictured on May 13) said she was ‘devastated’ and surprised by the High Court’s verdict
‘Her response was quite rude, quite harsh, and she basically just said, ‘You know what this is’. And at that point I really didn’t know what it was. It was like, ‘No, surely this can’t be real; no one would do that.’
But it seems Rebekah is ready to forgive and forget, adding that if she saw her in the street tomorrow she would ask her ‘if she wanted to go for a Caffe Nero.’
She later claims she ‘reached out’ to Coleen in November last year but did not get a response, before insisting she has no ‘bad feelings’ towards her.
She says she wished she had ‘done things differently’ and that her timing was ‘terrible’, but that she ultimately does not ‘blame her’.
Rebekah said her main gripe was with ‘the process’ and the judge ‘getting it wrong.’
The exclusive interview is likely part of a series of efforts to restore her reputation that may include a documentary, a biography and two retail campaigns.
Jamie Vardy (pictured) was pictured for the first time yesterday since the sensational Wagatha Christie verdict, behind the wheel of his £130,000 Bentley
On Saturday Mrs Vardy posted an image on Instagram showing her walking away from the camera with the caption ‘peace out’
Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy together in 2016. The WAGs have ended up in court in the libel trial of the year and Mrs Vardy’s reputation is in tatters after bringing the case and losing
Mrs Vardy was told by a High Court judge that her evidence was ‘evasive and implausible; and was accused of deliberately deleting WhatsApp messages central to the case.
In her ruling, Mrs Justice Steyn said it was ‘likely’ that Mrs Vardy’s agent at the time, Caroline Watt, ‘undertook the direct act’ of passing the information to The Sun.
Mrs Vardy admitted that she ‘felt sick’ following the ruling, which is likely to cost her and her husband millions in damages and legal costs.
She said she now receives a torrent of abuse online and is scared to go out in public after being approached in the street.
She said people would say things ‘behind her back’ and that she would receive ‘100 abusive’ messages per day.
Mrs Vardy said trolls sent her letters accusing her of being ‘linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann’ and of being a member of ISIS.
She said it was ‘as if I’d murdered someone’, revealing how she received a litany of death and rape threats.
The WAG also revealed that several of those sending vile abuse have been arrested by police, leading to numerous ‘letters of apology.’
Mrs Vardy and her Leicester City footballer husband Jamie pictured together outside the High Court on May earlier this year
Mrs Rooney pictured arriving with husband Wayne to the High Court in London in May earlier this year
Happy: A victorious Coleen Rooney was seen laughing in the stands at Old Trafford on Sunday – after winning her libel case against Becky Vardy
When asked if she is impressed by Coleen’s detective skills, after she posted 50 stories on her private Instagram account and only let one person view them to see who was behind the leaks, Mrs Vardy branded the whole thing ‘ridiculous.’
She said that she would ‘never do that to someone’ and that she would have instead gone to their house to ‘have a conversation’.
TV production companies planning to make a documentary telling her side of the story are expected to offer between £50,000 and £250,000 for her involvement, according to The Times.
Streaming giants Netflix, Amazon and Disney are already believed to be battling it out to broadcast Mrs Rooney’s side of the legal battle made by Lorton Entertainment – the same company responsible for the feature film on Wayne.
A source close to Coleen said she could be in line for ‘several million pounds’ for her participation.
Mrs Vardy had sued Mrs Rooney for libel over her claim that she had leaked details of her private life to the press.
It followed an elaborate sting operation that saw Coleen post fake stories on her Instagram in order to see which ones ended up in The Sun.
Justice Steyn, said in her ruling that Coleen had successfully proved her allegation was substantially true.
Mrs Vardy will have to pay her rival’s costs as well as her own, which sources in both camps say comes to between £2million and £3million.
The huge legal bill means the Vardys may be forced to sell their beloved Portuguese villa to cover the costs.
The bombshell verdict from Court 13 of the High Court was handed down remotely online last week by Mrs Justice Steyn just over two months after the trial in May.
Mrs Vardy’s failed libel suit has been branded the most ill-advised in history.
However she still insists she was not the person who leaked the stories about Coleen to the media.
She told the Sun that she ‘would do it all again tomorrow’ as she is ‘innocent.’
She also revealed that she has four documentary offers on the table.
‘I think I’m probably suffering with PTSD’: Rebekah Vardy reveals she has been hospitalised with mental health issues TWICE since Wagatha Christie accusation… and ‘felt like jumping off Dubai mall’ at her lowest ebb
Rebekah Vardy has said she think she is suffering from PTSD following her High Court libel trial with Coleen Rooney, and thought about jumping off the top of a shopping mall in Dubai.
Now that the Wagatha Christie trial is over, Mrs Vardy said that she needs to seek out therapy, having been hospitalised for mental health issues twice.
The 40-year-old sensationally lost her £3million libel battle against Coleen Rooney, 36, at the High Court last week.
‘I think I’m probably suffering with PTSD,’ she told The Sun. ‘I feel physically sick when I talk about the trial and what happened, and I have nightmares.
‘I haven’t gone to get a diagnosis yet but I do know I probably need some more therapy. It’s been a horrible time.’
Rebekah Vardy has said she think she is suffering from PTSD following her High Court libel trial with Coleen Rooney. Pictured in a teaser clip from Talk TV published this afternoon
Rebekah Vardy departs the High Court in London, Thursday, May 19, during the libel trial
Mrs Vardy was enjoying a trip to Dubai when she saw that Mrs Rooney had taken to social media to accuse her of leaking stories to The Sun newspaper following her own months-long ‘sting operation’, ending the post with the now immortal words: ‘It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
The wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, 35, said that she thought about jumping from the top floor of a shopping mall in Dubai while pregnant, after being accused of leaking the stories.
She described it as her ‘lowest point’, anticipating the UK response when she returned to the country.
‘Jamie and I were in a shopping mall at the time buying baby clothes, and I just thought, “I don’t want to go through this, I don’t want to live like this”,’ she told The Sun.
‘For a split second, I said to Jamie, “I feel like I just want to jump off this top floor”.’
The mother-of-five also said that she has been hospitalised twice with mental health issues since October 2019, when she was accused of the leaks.
She saw multiple counsellors, and was given medication for both anxiety and depression.
Mrs Vardy said she was struggling with panic attacks and felt as though her life was falling apart, describing the ordeal as exhausting.
Kidney stones had also developed due to the stress, she added.
Mrs Vardy said that she felt ‘bullied’ and ‘slut-shamed’ during the libel trial, saying that her answers were ‘manipulated’ and ‘twisted’.
While she did not regret the trial, Mrs Vardy said that it felt ‘misogynistic’ and ‘classist’, with people pitching the ‘two successful working-class women’ against each other.
Following Mrs Rooney’s famous social media post, Mrs Vardy said that she has lost some friends, but keeps a small circle, keeping football separate from her family life.
Jamie Vardy, and his wife Rebekah Vardy, arrive together at the High Court in London, Tuesday, May 17, for the libel trial
She added that she and Mrs Rooney were ‘not close’ to begin with, but said that there are ‘no bard feelings’ on her side.
Mrs Vardy had sued Mrs Rooney for libel over her claim that she had leaked details of her private life to the press.
It followed an elaborate sting operation that saw Mrs Rooney post fake stories on her Instagram in order to see which ones ended up in The Sun.
Justice Steyn, said in her ruling that Mrs Rooney had successfully proved her allegation was substantially true.
Mrs Vardy will have to pay her rival’s costs as well as her own, which sources in both camps say comes to between £2million and £3million.
The huge legal bill means the Vardys may be forced to sell their beloved Portuguese villa to cover the costs.
The bombshell verdict from Court 13 of the High Court was handed down remotely online last week by Mrs Justice Steyn just over two months after the trial in May.
Mrs Vardy’s failed libel suit has been branded the most ill-advised in history.
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