Rooney describes ‘traumatic’ Vardy case
Wayne Rooney has described the "traumatic" impact of the last two-anda-half years on his wife, Coleen, as he gave evidence on the penultimate day of the Wagatha Christie libel trial.
In a viral social media post in October 2019, Mrs Rooney, 36, said she had carried out a "sting operation" and accused Rebekah Vardy, 40, of leaking "false stories" about her private life to the press.
Mrs Vardy, married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer's wife for libel, while Mrs Rooney is defending the claim on the basis her post was "substantially true".
Mr Rooney, a former England captain, has attended court with his wife for each of the six days of the trial, sitting in the front row of Court 13 in the Royal Courts of Justice.
Yesterday, the 36-yearold moved into the witness box to give his evidence to the packed courtroom.
Mr Rooney told the court that the period after his wife's "reveal" post had been "very traumatic" for her and that he had watched her "really struggle".
"For me and my wife, we don't want to be in this court," Mr Rooney said. "I've watched my wife over the last two-and-a-half years really struggle with everything, becoming a different mother, a different wife. It's been very traumatic for my wife."
Mr Rooney later described how he was asked by then England manager Roy Hodgson to speak to Mr Vardy to ask his wife to "calm down" during the Euro 2016 tournament. Mr Rooney said he did so, although Mr Vardy has denied this.