Rebekah Vardy would ask Coleen Rooney 'to go for a Caffè Nero' despite Wagatha Christie defeat
Entertainment reporter Rishi Davda summarises Rebekah Vardy's sit-down with The Sun
In her first on-screen interview since losing the “Wagatha Christie” libel battle, Rebekah Vardy said that if she bumped into Coleen Rooney in the street, she'd "ask her if she'd want to go for a Caffè Nero".
In a viral social media post in October 2019, Mrs Rooney, 36, said she had carried out a “sting operation” and accused Mrs Vardy, 40, of sending “false stories” about her private life to the press.
Consequently, Mrs Vardy brought a High Court libel battle against Mrs Rooney, wife of former England star Wayne Rooney. The judge ruled that although it was "likely" Mrs Vardy's agent leaked Mrs Rooney's information to The Sun, evidence "clearly" shows Mrs Vardy "knew of and condoned this behaviour".
The wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy gave a tell-all interview to The Sun - the paper she was accused of leaking Mrs Rooney's information to.
In the sit-down interview, The Sun's Clemmie Moodie asked Mrs Vardy what she'd do if she saw Mrs Rooney in the street, following their clash in court.
Mrs Vardy answered: "I'd ask her if she wanted to go for a Caffè Nero."
"Really?" Mrs Moddie asked, to which Mrs Vardy said, "yeah".
Despite losing the libel case, Mrs Vardy still insists she didn't leak any stories about Mrs Rooney. In an upcoming, tearful interview with The Sun's sister outlet, TalkTV, Mrs Vardy said she felt down by the legal system. She adds: "I will say that 'till I'm blue in the face - I did not do it."
Ms Vardy on how she'd react if she saw her fellow footballer's wife in the street
Mrs Vardy told The Sun about the verbal abuse she received following Mrs Rooney's explosive social media post.
She said the insults reached "the point where I'd go to a football game and there's chants being sung about me".
"There was a point where I had to stop taking the kids to see their dad play football. As a mum, all you want to do is shield your children from that," Mrs Vardy continued.
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According to Mrs Vardy, at one point she was receiving over 100 abusive messages a day, ranging from social media insults to physical letters.
She added, when out in public, passers-by would call her "disgusting", "a rat" and "a troll".
In her ruling, Mrs Justice Steyn condemned the "vile" abuse Mrs Vardy received.
When anticipating this abuse, Mrs Vardy talked about her "lowest point", when she was about to return to the UK from a trip to Dubai.
"I knew what I was coming back to... I knew that it was going to be spiteful, hatred everywhere. I thought... 'I don't want to live like this'," she said.
Mrs Vardy added that she hadn't felt that low "since all that stuff happened when I was a youngster".
In 2016, Mrs Vardy revealed she had suffered years of sexual abuse as a teenager.
Brand experts told ITV News the Wagatha Christie trial had been a PR disaster for Mrs Vardy and had severely damaged her reputation.
The case dragged up a series of incidents that paint Mrs Vardy, 40, in a "very bad light", brand expert Nick Ede said, such as her 2004 News of The World interview, in which she ridiculed singer Peter Andre's genitalia.
It is believed the total legal costs of the case will be in the region of £3 million, most of which will now be borne by Mrs Vardy.