Coleen in Wagatha Christie plot twist
She ‘fires lawyers’ over battle with Rebekah Vardy
‘She is keen to shift the blame’
IT was the clash of the football Wags with an added touch of whodunnit drama.
Coleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking stories about her private life to a downmarket tabloid and claimed to have turned sleuth to obtain the proof.
But now the saga, dubbed the Wagatha Christie affair and the subject of a legal battle between the pair, has taken a new plot twist.
Mrs Rooney, 34, who is married to former England captain Wayne Rooney, is reported to have sacked her lawyers after they told her the case against Mrs Vardy, 38, is not as strong as she had believed.
The warring Wags clashed in October when mother-of-four Mrs Rooney claimed that her rival’s Instagram account had been the source of leaked stories about her. She described on social media how she had set a trap for Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester City and former England striker Jamie Vardy.
Mrs Rooney said she posted fake stories about herself on her social media accounts – but blocked all followers except one from viewing them.
They included one which claimed she was heading to Mexico to have ‘gender selection’ treatment to allow her to have a baby girl – after four sons – and another that she was set to take part in Strictly Come Dancing.
The stories duly appeared in the tabloid newspaper, leading Mrs Rooney to claim they must have been leaked by the only follower she had left with access to her messages. She publicly accused Mrs Vardy, then seven months pregnant, who strongly denied the claims.
In February, Mrs Vardy broke down in tears as she discussed the spat on ITV’s Loose Women, revealing that she had been trolled online, with abuse including death threats to her unborn child. She said she needed hospital treatment three times after suffering severe anxiety attacks that left her in fear of going out.
Now The Sun newspaper claims Mrs Rooney has fired her key legal advisers, accusing them of making a series of errors. She was said to have been furious last week when told that her case has holes in it and that she ‘may have made some mistakes’.
Mrs Rooney is now claimed to be hiring an expensive London law firm to ensure she wins the case.
A source told the newspaper: ‘When Coleen posted her infamous Wagatha Christie allegations, she thought it was a total certainty she was in the right.
‘But now she’s been told she may have made some mistakes along the way and is keen to shift the blame to anyone else. It’s a total mess.’
Another insider added: ‘Along the way, something has been hidden from everyone else involved and it could end up costing them the whole case.
‘Coleen still won’t back down – and now she’s decided who to hold responsible, she is planning to fork out big time and hire a very expensive London legal team who are specialists in media and privacy work. She’ll do anything in her power to salvage things.’
The two women held an online mediation meeting last month but failed to sort out their differences.
Mrs Rooney’s representative was approached for comment.