Coleen Rooney 'relief' at telling her side of 'Wagatha Christie' saga

  • Coleen Rooney speaks to Granada Reports Entertainment Correspondent Caroline Whitmore at the premiere in Liverpool


Coleen Rooney said "everyone has had their say and now it is my turn" after telling her side of the story in the screening of her Wagatha documentary.

Rooney was with her football manager husband Wayne and eldest son Kai, 13, for the screening of Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story at the Everyman cinema in Liverpool on Wednesday.

Rooney's parents Colette and Tony McLoughlin and other family members were there too along with footballers including Phil Jones and Jordan Pickford.

Coleen with husband Wayne and son Kai Credit: PA

Rooney said: "I'm so excited. I think it will be emotional because there are some emotional things in there.

"Obviously I've watched it so I think I will be a bit nervous of what's going on around me but Kai's here because he's old enough now to see it and there are some laughs in it too."

Coleen had revealed that the trial has started to take over her life, even though she is a busy mum to four boys.

She said: "Everyone thinks a WAG spends the day having lunch and drinking champagne, that happens only now and then, I spend most of my life in the car, dropping off and picking the kids up from school."

The Disney+ series offers exclusive access to Rooney, her family, friends and key players involved in the case.

It also reveals how she turned amateur online sleuth to find an explanation for why private stories about her and her family were popping up in the media.

Vardy, wife of Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy, sued Rooney for libel but lost the High Court battle after the judge found Rooney's claims to be "substantially true".

Asked whether she hoped Vardy watched the show, Rooney said: "That's up to her."

Rebecca Vardy lost her libel case Credit: PA

The mother-of-four said the decision to film the documentary, which was released on Disney+ on Wednesday, was not an "easy" one.

She said: "I feel like now it's time to tell my truth and my story."

She added: "I feel like a massive cloud's been lifted.

"There were some really low points that I went through and I feel now I can breathe, I can move on with my life."

The 37-year-old said she had a book due to come out in November and then hoped to move forward.

She added: "Hopefully by Christmas I'm going to relax and have some time with the family."

Coleen was joined by her parents at the screening Credit: PA
Jordan Pickford was among a number of sports personalities and celebrities at the Liverpool screening Credit: PA

Director Lucy Bird said she wanted the programme to get into Rooney's "headspace" and "bring the viewer with her".

She said: "Without trivialising her experience, it's a bit of a thriller, and that's why everyone called her Wagatha Christie.

"I wanted everyone to understand why she did what she did, and I hope the series does show that a bit.

"She is quite a special person and her experience in life led her to do this thing in that particular way.

"Also, I wanted to show the process in quite a lot of forensic detail and make a murder-mystery."

Credit: PA

It began with a viral social media post in which Rooney said she had carried out a months-long “sting operation” and accused an account under the name of Rebekah Vardy, the wife of footballer Jamie Vardy, of leaking “false stories” about her private life to the press.

In a trial that gripped the nation last summer, Vardy, 40, lost a libel battle against 36-year-old Rooney over the post, after a High Court judge found it was “substantially true”.

Coleen Rooney breaks silence on Wagatha Christie libel case against Rebekah Vardy

The 37-year-old TV personality also attended a premiere in London on Tuesday night, wearing a floor-length white skirt and strapless top as she posed for photographers.

The battle between Coleen Rooney (left) and Rebekah Vardy (right). was dubbed 'War of the WAGs,' Credit: PA

In a trailer for Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, she admits she was forced to "set a trap" for former friend Rebekah Vardy.

"Have you still got the post on your phone?" Rooney is asked as she sits in front of the camera.

"Yeah," she responds. "They're my words."

Coleen Rooney ready to 'tell her truth' as first Wagatha Christie documentary trailer drops

Her sleuthing efforts saw her dubbed “Wagatha Christie” in reference to the popular mystery writer.

"I needed evidence," Rooney says in the trailer."I had to set a trap."

Ending the trailer, Rooney says: “Don’t play games with a girl who can play better”.

Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story will also explore how Rooney’s life, and marriage to former England, Everton and Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney, has played out in public for the last 20 years.

Coleen and Wayne Rooney Credit: PA

The Disney+ documentary is made by Dorothy Street Pictures and Lorton Entertainment and is directed and produced by Lucy Bowden.


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