Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy trial: Wagatha Christie saga so farLouise Griffin

The Wagatha Christie case is headed to court (Picture: REX/Getty/PA)

The ‘Wagatha Christie’ drama between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy has been raging on since 2019, with the case finally headed to the High Court to begin this week.

Almost three years ago, Rooney, 36, accused Vardy, 40, of leaking stories about her to the press in a jaw-dropping statement that famously ended: ‘It’s…..Rebekah Vardy’s account’.

Rooney, wife of football legend Wayne Rooney, said she had planted three stories on her private Instagram that only Vardy’s account was able to see, and all three stories ended up being leaked to the press.

Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, denies having leaked the stories and is suing Rooney for libel.

Under English defamation law, the burden of proof now will be on Rooney to prove that her post was ‘substantially true’.

It’s been reported that the trial could cost up to £3million.

What’s happened so far?

Rooney accused Vardy of selling stories on her (Picture: Getty Images)

Over the past few years, various hearings have taken place, with with Vardy previously securing a small win after the High Court agreed to throw out some of Rooney’s claims.

Messages sent from Vardy to her agent Caroline Watt have also been shown to the court, with Rooney also bringing a claim against Watt for misuse of private information but her previous request for it to be joined to the libel case involving Vardy was rejected.

Vardy’s lawyers had opposed the application to add the claim against Watt to the libel case, arguing the claim ‘could have been brought 15 months ago’. 

During a recent hearing, Vardy was forced to deny that messages sent to Watt, calling someone a ‘nasty b***h’, were about Rooney.

In February, Rooney’s barrister David Sherborne told the High Court that a ‘series of unfortunate events; have happened over the evidence in the case, notably Ms Watt’s phone falling into the North Sea.’

Vardy’s lawyers have said she has ‘nothing to hide’.

Most recently, it was claimed that Vardy ‘appears to accept’ her agent, Watt, leaked stories about Rooney.

Vardy is suing (Picture: Getty Images)

Rooney’s lawyers had previously claimed Vardy leaked information to The Sun either directly or via Watt ‘acting on her instruction or with her knowing approval’.

Sherborne, Rooney’s lawyer, claimed that Vardy believes Watt may have been the source of the stories in the latest witness statement.

In written submissions, Sherborne said Vardy’s new statement ‘suggests Ms Watt was the source of the leak but claims that (Mrs Vardy) “did not authorise or condone her”‘.

He added: ‘It now appears…that she too “believes” that Ms Watt is the source.’

More: Coleen Rooney

What will happen next?

The High Court trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 10, in front of Mrs Justice Steyn and last for seven days.

It remains to be seen what evidence will be shown, but it’s thought that Watt will not give oral evidence as she’s been described in written evidence as being in a ‘fragile state’.

A judgment is expected at a later date.

Meanwhile, Rooney has reportedly signed a deal with Netflix for a documentary about her life.

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Entertainment – Metro