Coleen Rooney kept her husband in the dark over her Wagatha Christie plot to ensnare a fellow WAG, the High Court heard yesterday.
Her lawyer David Sherborne said she did not tell former England star Wayne of her months-long secret sting.
Mrs Rooney, 35, claimed fellow footballer’s wife Rebekah Vardy, 39, shared fake stories she had posted on her personal Instagram account with The Sun newspaper.
Mr Sherborne said: “Nobody knew that there were fake posts. No one else was told, not even her husband, Mr Rooney.”
He outlined his client’s plot as he fought a motion from Mrs Vardy’s lawyers to have a large portion of Mrs Rooney’s defence struck out. The mum of five wants a “list of issues” in Mrs Rooney’s defence thrown out on the grounds they are irrelevant or “wrong”.
In her court documents, lawyers used the Duchess of Sussex’s high-profile privacy case against the Mail on Sunday to argue some allegations made by Mrs Rooney should be dismissed.
The papers cite a ruling made by the judge in Meghan’s successful legal battle that the “facts alleged must be sufficient”.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, for Mrs Vardy, told the court he wanted to “clear away what we say is a mass of irrelevant or peripheral material”. Among the claims he wants thrown out is an allegation Mrs Vardy had a close relationship with The Sun.
She denies being the anonymous writer of the paper’s Secret Wag column.
Mr Sherborne said Mrs Vardy’s alleged “exceptionally close relationship” with The Sun was a key part of the case.
Coleen sparked the case in 2019 by writing on Instagram: “For a few years now someone who I trusted to follow me on my personal Instagram account has been consistently informing The Sun newspaper of my private posts and stories.
"I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
Mrs Vardy, married to Leicester City striker Jamie, denies the accusations and is suing Mrs Rooney for libel. The court heard that Mrs Vardy was exposed to “widespread” abuse after the post.
Mr Tomlinson added: “Her children were also abused at school.”
Mrs Vardy also applied for summary judgment to resolve one allegation without a trial: Mrs Rooney’s claim that Mrs Vardy leaked a story to The Sun about her returning to TV presenting.
Mrs Rooney said she blocked everyone except Mrs Vardy from her Instagram stories before hinting at a return to TV work. That story was on The Sun website days later, she claims.
At the end of the hearing, Mrs Justice Steyn said she would give her decision on the application at a later date.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
