Rebekah Vardy brands Coleen ‘school bully’ who wanted to make her ‘feel paranoid’ after accusing her of ‘wagatha’
REBEKAH Vardy kicked off her explosive Wagatha Christie libel fight with Coleen Rooney yesterday and insisted: “I didn’t leak anything.”
But she admitted deeply regretting comparing singer Peter Andre’s todger to a chipolata and was accused of angering other footballers’ wives and girlfriends by secretly setting up a World Cup paparazzi photograph.
Rebekah, 40, entered the witness box yesterday at a crowded High Court as her stony-faced rival Coleen — wearing an air boot on her injured foot — glared from a desk just a few feet away.
The former pals were facing off for the first time since their sensational fallout in October 2019, when Coleen turned detective and claimed stories about her had been leaked from Rebekah’s Instagram account.
The wife of Leicester striker Jamie yesterday repeatedly denied leaking information to newspapers.
She also branded Coleen, 36, a “school bully” who gloated about the effect her post had on her.
Rebekah told how other Wags turned on her with a “mob mentality” after Coleen’s message went viral.
And her witness statement recalled her initial shock at the bombshell accusation — as she holidayed in Dubai while heavily pregnant.
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She said: “Coleen must have known what the press and public’s reaction was going to be.
“She planned the publication of the post to make maximum impact. It was hideous. I was so afraid for our baby.
“I then called Coleen and she said that I knew exactly what I had done.
“I asked her how she could do that to someone who was heavily pregnant and she responded that I had been leaking stories about her when she was pregnant.
She told me that she wanted to make me feel paranoid the way she had felt paranoid.
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“I still remember her tone on that telephone call really vividly. It was extremely calculated and cold and she showed no remorse even though I was very upset.
"I found it very chilling and quite menacing.”
Coleen, in an air boot after an accident at home, was flanked by Manchester United and England star husband Wayne, 36, as she arrived earlier at the High Court in London.
Questioned by Coleen’s barrister David Sherborne, mum-of-five Rebekah, wearing an elegant blue dress, said it was wrong for anyone to leak private information and agreed that it was a breach of trust.
But Mr Sherborne, standing behind a boxfile labelled “Vardy Lies”, said Rebekah had admitted leaking private information about other high-profile celebrities in the past — “but not Coleen”.
He then asked incredulously: “Why on earth are we even here?”
I’m a Celebrity star Rebekah was asked about a kiss and tell interview she gave to the News of the World in 2004 in which she likened Peter Andre’s manhood to a chipolata.
She said: “It was something I was forced to say. I was forced into a situation by my ex-husband to do this story.
"It’s something I deeply regret and something that is very much part of my past.
“It’s not nice to read. I have dealt with this. To me this is mud slinging.
“I was always threatened with mud slinging by Mrs Rooney’s team.”
It also emerged that England star Harry Maguire’s fiancée, Fern Hawkins, was left fuming with Rebekah over claims she secretly set up a photograph of England’s Wags at the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Mr Sherborne claimed Fern and other partners headed to a restaurant in St Petersburg for a low-key dinner on the eve of England’s first-round match against Belgium.
Smiling Rebekah, Fern and seven other Wags were then met by photographers and arranged into a line-up for their own team snap.
A series of WhatsApp messages between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt have shown they secretly planned the photograph all along.
Harpreet Robertson, who was FA family liaison officer during the World Cup, said: “Fern later expressed her upset to me she had taken part.
"She said she was embarrassed, wasn’t prepared and had not expected to be put in that position by Mrs Vardy.”
Ms Robertson is also expected to tell how Rebekah moved seats to sit closer to Coleen at Euro 2016 - and told her: “We can sit where we like, f*** off.”
Mr Sherborne claimed she was “fame hungry” and knew she would appear in media photographs if she sat with Coleen.
The court also heard how Rebekah, who will continue giving evidence today, branded Coleen a “c***” in one message.
And in another to Miss Watt, she wrote: “Stupid cow deserves everything she gets!”
In an eleventh-hour twist she admitted it was now likely Miss Watt was the conduit for the leaks.
But she insisted she was not aware of what she was doing.
Mr Sherborne dismissed her claims and said they worked hand in glove — regularly leaking private information.
He said Coleen launched her mole hunt without telling Wayne and planted fake stories among mundane everyday events that were later leaked.
Mr Sherborne added: “In essence, this is a detective story and like any good detective story you never find the culprit standing over the body with a smoking gun in their hand.
“There is inference, circumstance, likelihood and probability.
“If she gives Miss Watt the gun, the bullets and gives her blessing that makes her just as responsible as the person who pulled the trigger. It’s like hiring a hitman.”
Mr Sherborne went on to describe a series of “unfortunate events” that led to incriminating evidence including text messages and media files being lost, describing it as a “concerted effort” to hide the truth.
Miss Watt’s iPhone was lying at the bottom of the North Sea where it was dropped overboard just days after the court ordered her to hand it over, he said.
Coleen’s hubby Wayne, dressed in a grey suit jacket with black trousers, white shirt and black tie, is among those due to give evidence this week.
He sat with his hands clasped for most of the day but could barely look at Rebekah when she entered the witness box.
Rebekah sat next to her lawyer throughout as her hubby Jamie, 35, trained with teammates for Leicester City’s match against Norwich tonight.
Coleen, dressed in a £1,600 Mugler jacket and wearing a dazzling diamond bracelet, scribbled notes into a grey notebook as Wayne tilted his head to listen to evidence.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, for Rebekah, said she was forced to launch libel proceedings as a last resort.
He dismantled Coleen’s sting operation to expose the mole — which ended with her infamous post, “It’s .......... Rebekah Vardy’s account” — and branded it “flawed”.
He said Coleen’s post accusing Becky of leaking stories sparked a vile response online with trolls calling her an “evil rat-faced bitch” and suggesting she should die and her baby “put in an incinerator”.
Mr Tomlinson said the fallout had been “profoundly distressing and disturbing”.
The libel trial comes after two and a half years of legal wrangling, two rounds of peace talks and three offers of settlement amounted to nothing.
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Rebekah is suing Coleen and seeking substantial aggravated damages for libel and costs.
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She also wants an injunction against Coleen and her team from publishing the information again.
The trial, scheduled to last seven days, continues.
PAIR TONE DOWN GLAMOUR FOR COURT BATTLE
THE two Wags’ courtroom ensembles were a far cry from the bodycon dresses, bouncy blow drys and platform heels with which they’ve been associated.
They both toned down the glamour — opting for something a little more reserved.
Coleen Rooney wore a medical boot after fracturing her foot in March but didn’t let it detract from her professional-looking outfit.
She paired her sharp black Mugler blazer, costing £1,565, with a Chanel handbag and Gucci loafers.
The mother of four added no extra bling except a pair of small hooped earrings.
Coleen was accompanied by husband Wayne, who swapped his sports kit for a grey suit navy polka dot tie, white shirt, smart black shoes and black trousers.
Rebekah Vardy opted for a slightly more glamorous look than Coleen — wearing a navy belted midi dress, which would set you back £890.
Her dress was made by designer Edeline Lee, whose other celebrity fans include Holly Willoughby and Amanda Holden.
She finished off her look with white court shoes, tote bag and oversized sunglasses, with her hair slicked back in a low bun.
Even make-up was stripped back, with both ladies going for a barely there natural look.
There wasn’t a stick-on false eyelash in sight.