The Wagatha Christie libel case, that gripped celebrity fans, is now over. Rebekah Vardy lost her lawsuit against fellow football WAG (wives and girlfriends) Coleen Rooney in a high court judgement due to Vardy’s credibility as a witness being questioned. Not only had a “devastated” Rebekah Vardy lost her libel case against Coleen Rooney, but she is also left facing bills legal bills worth millions of pounds.Social media and British media outlets have been a-buzz with updates and news of the so-called Wagatha Christie saga since it started in October 2019. It involved the wives of two famous English footballers - Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy - and went from a celebrity Instagram spat, to a full-blown court case by May this year. So, here is everything we think you should know about this high profile court case between two sporting spouses.
11 What Was The 'Wagatha Christie' Trial?
The Wagatha Christie trial was a civil court case between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy, who are both married to successful English soccer players. Forty-year-old Rebekah Vardy is suing 36-year-old Coleen Rooney for defamation after she accused Rebekah on social media of selling stories about her and her family to The Sun newspaper.
Rooney had been suspicious for some time that someone was leaking stories to the press, after information only shared on her private Instagram account was appearing in The Sun. In October 2019, she named Vardy as the source of the leaks.
"I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's.......... Rebekah Vardy's account," tweeted Coleen.
This spat was soon named Wagatha Christie, a mix of the acronym WAG and crime writer Agatha Christie. The Daily Mail reported that the phrase was coined by 39-year-old Dan Atkinson from Folkestone, Kent. He previously told the Mirror, "I knew the tweet was a neat pun, but anyone who says they can guess what will go crazy is lying, aren't they? My first thought when I saw it trending was that I wish I had spelt it correctly."
10 How Did Coleen Rooney Find Out Rebekah Vardy Was Planting Stories?
Mother of four, Coleen Rooney said she had planted a series of false stories about herself on her personal Instagram stories account. She said that three stories, one about her basement flooding, one about gender selection and one about returning the television made it The Sun.
The problem for Rebekah Vardy, is that these were fake stories planted by Rooney and only one person's account could see them-Rebekah Vardy's. It was this investigative skills that led for her to be called Wagatha Christie.
9 Rebekah Vardy Denied Allegations Against Her
Rebekah Vardy immediately responded and denied the allegation made against her, saying that she “never” speaks to the press about her friends’ personal lives. She instead suggested that a number of other people who have access to her Instagram were instead to blame. She also appeared on TV show Loose Women to declare her innocence.
“Just this week I found I was following people I didn’t know and have never followed myself,” Rebekah tweeted shortly after she was named by Coleen Rooney. “I’m not being funny, but I don’t need the money, what would I gain from selling stories on you? I liked you a lot Coleen & I’m so upset that you have chosen to do this.”
8 Rebekah Vardy Files Libel Against Coleen Rooney
In late June 2020, Rebekah Vardy filed a libel lawsuit against Coleen Rooney. She was suing on grounds of defamation because, according to her lawyers, she had “suffered extreme distress, hurt, anxiety and embarrassment as a result of the publication of the post and the events which followed”.
"Mrs Vardy does not actually know what happened, she doesn't know how this information got into the press, all she knows is what she did and she knows it wasn't her,” her lawyer said, according to the Independent.
7 Why Wagatha Christie Was A Messy Court Case
The case went to a seven-day trial in May, with both Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy taking to the stand to share their accounts. Rooney’s defense produced evidence of Vardy’s regular disregard for other people’s privacy. This evidence including her sale of a “kiss-and-tell” story regarding a fling with pop star and TV personality Peter Andre.
Vardy also admitted that she had previously tried to leak a story about footballer Danny Drinkwater, messaging her agent, to say, “I want paying for this.”
6 Was Rebekah Vardy's Agent Involved?
Many people seemed to point their finger at Rebekah Vardy's agent Caroline Watt. According to the BBC reports, Watt "lost her phone in the North Sea after it was hit by a wave before Mrs Rooney's team could see WhatsApp messages that could potentially help her case."
"Just because you're not the person who gets their hands dirty, doesn't mean you're not equally responsible," said Rooney's lawyer about the agent. Watt was deemed unfit to testify during the court case. She is no longer Vardy' agent.
In court, Vardy appeared to believe that Watt had been the person leaking information from Rooney’s private Instagram account to the press, but denied that it was “new” information to her.
5 How Were Rebekah Vardy And Coleen Rooney's Husbands Involved In The Wagatha Christie Case?
Wayne Rooney accused Jamie Vardy of running scared after the ex-England soccer teammates’ disagreed during their wives’ libel trial. Rooney, 36, said under oath that he had told the fellow soccer player to ask his wide to “calm down” during the 2016 Euros as her media activities were “causing problems and distractions.”
“He must be confused because he never spoke to me about issues concerning Becky’s media work at Euro 2016," Jamie Vardy, 35, responded. Rooney told the court how the then-England manager Roy Hodgson and his assistant Gary Neville asked him to intervene amid negative media coverage surrounding the European soccer competition.
4 Shocking Texts Revealed In Court For Wagatha Christie Case
The court heard shocking and expletive texts sent from Vardy about her fellow WAG. Vardy's messages to her agent Caroline Watt appeared to confirm that she wanted to leak stories about Rooney to the press and labeled her a "nasty b***h."
During another direct message exchange after Rooney had been involved in a car crash and posted about it on her private Instagram, Vardy appeared to write that she "would love to leak that story."
Her agent replied, "I would have tried to have done a story on Coleen, but the evidence has been deleted x,' with Ms Vardy then passing on details about the post. News of the car crash soon appeared in The Sun, prompting the mum of four to take to Twitter where she posted 'someone on my private Instagram…. is telling or selling stories to a certain newspaper."
Despite showing expletive texts between Vardy and Watt, Rooney's lawyers believed that the pair deliberately did not reveal the entirety of their communication, with many messages heavily redacted. Vardy and Watt claim their phones and laptops had been lost or broken since messages were sent.
3 How Rebekah Vardy Lost Her Case In The Wagatha Christie Trial
In a damning high court judgment, Rebekah Vardy was described as an “untrustworthy witness” who was likely to have destroyed potentially crucial evidence on purpose. Justice Steyn concluded Vardy probably worked with her agent, Caroline Watt, to leak stories from Rooney’s private Instagram account to a British newspaper as well as exchanging tips to journalists for her financial gain.
Vardy now faces a huge legal bill, reportedly aroundr $3.6 million, after choosing to pursue the case to trial. The judge's 75-page ruling described the evidence she gave as “inconsistent,” “evasive” or “implausible”.
2 Wagatha Christie Was An Expensive Trial
"Naturally, I am pleased that the judge has found in my favor with her judgement today,” Coleen Rooney said in a statement. She also noted how unnecessarily expensive the case was, especially when many people in the UK face a cost-of-living crisis.
“It was not a case I ever sought or wanted,” she said. “I never believed it should have gone to court at such expense in times of hardship for so many people, when the money could have been far better spent helping others.”
Rebekah Vardy’s loss means that she will receive no damages, and Rooney will be entitled to claim costs. Coleen Rooney reportedly plans to force her rival to foot the full bill.
A source told the Daily Mail on Sunday, "Coleen didn’t want this to happen. She knew the money would be better spent on so many other things but she won’t be letting Rebekah get away with not paying the full costs."
"Let’s not forget, this action was brought by Rebekah and she lost spectacularly."
1 Rebekah Vardy Still Denies Allegations
Rebekah Vardy still denies the claims, arguing that the accusations had caused her “public abuse on a massive scale,” and suing Coleen Rooney in an attempt to clear her name.
"To me it just seemed like it was, she wanted to weaponise an army against me and that is what it felt like. But life is too short to be resentful and hold grudges and be bitter towards someone. That is not me. I am not that person," she told The Sun.
Vardy also went on to say the case made her suffer from mental health issues but still doesn't resent her fellow WAG. "Life is too short to be resentful and hold grudges and be bitter towards someone. That is not me. I am not that person."
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