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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Amy Denman & Zoe Delaney

Inside Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney's close friendship before it all went wrong

It's hard to imagine now, after the shocking Wagatha Christie verdict was delivered, but Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy were once actually close friends.

Rebekah lost the explosive Wagatha Christie court case against Coleen, putting an end to the two-and-a-half-year feud.

In her ruling, Justice Steyn said it was "likely that Rebekah's agent at the time, Caroline Watt, "undertook the direct act" of passing information to The Sun.

While there is no love lost between the pair these days, 36-year-old Coleen once even entrusted Jamie's Vardy's wife, 40, into her inner online circle – allowing her to follow her secret, private Instagram account.

Prior to Liverpool-born Coleen suspecting someone of leaking stories of her to the press, the two women not only followed each other on social media but also attended football matches together, as both their husbands represented England on the pitch.

When accusing Rebekah of being behind the Instagram leak in 2019 – which Rebekah has vehemently denied – Coleen referred to her now nemesis as someone she "trusted".

Coleen Rooney was already a long-time WAG prior to Rebekah Vardy arriving on the scene (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The wife of Jamie Vardy reportedly idolised her now ex-pal's lifestyle (REUTERS)

In Coleen's statement, she wrote: "For a few years now someone who I trusted to follow me on my personal Instagram account has been consistently informing [a national newspaper] of my private posts and stories."

She then explained she had hatched a plan to whittle down which Instagram account could be behind the alleged leak.

Coleen ended the statement with: "I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's..........Rebekah Vardy's account."

Dancing on Ice star Rebekah denied the accusation and responded with a statement of her own. She wrote: "If you thought this was happening you could have told me & I could have changed my passwords to see if it had stopped."

Rebekah Vardy has vehemently denied leaking stories about Coleen to the press (PA)

Referencing the pair's bond, Rebekah added: "I like you a lot Coleen & I’m so upset that you have chosen to do this, especially when i’m heavily pregnant." [sic]

Rebekah is unlikely to ever admit it now – following her high-profile court case – but according to an ex-boyfriend, she once idolised Coleen and dreamed of a life like her ex-pal.

Former Oxford United player Luke Foster made stark claims about Rebekah when they split following a six-year romance, telling the Daily Mail that he showered her with gifts and bought a home for them in Nottingham and Becky had hoped to have a lavish life like Coleen's.

But, she moved on to date and later marry Jamie Vardy – with Luke saying: "Becky liked the finer things in life. She wanted the biggest house on the street, expensive handbags.

Rebekah became a household name when Jamie Vardy's career took off (PA)

"She’s now got the husband she always wanted, one who can keep her in the lifestyle she’s dreamt of. Becky upgraded. She said that to my face. She said he’d treat her a hell of a lot better."

Rebekah has always strongly denied Luke’s claims but has since ascended to Premier League WAG status – just like Coleen – since tying the knot with Jamie in 2016.

Once Leicester City talisman Jamie got a call-up to represent his country on the pitch for the 2016 Euros, Coleen and Rebekah were seen sitting alongside each other to cheer on their partners on England duty during matches.

Coleen and Rebekah were seen sitting near one another during a number of matches at the Euro 2016 tournament (Getty Images)

Coleen and Rebekah famously sat side by side during the England v Wales game during the championships – with the ladies gasping and cheering as England ultimately won 2-1 over the Welsh.

The pair mirrored each other's style as they sat in the crowd – both hiding behind large sunglasses and with their respective glossy hair hanging loose around their shoulders.

But, it was later alleged Rebekah had opted to sit near Coleen during the matches in a bid to "boost her profile" – which she denied during the High Court Hearing in May.

Rebekah was accused of sitting near Coleen to 'boost her profile', which she denied (SplashNews.com)

Not only were the pair pals, but their husbands were understood to have a close working relationship, too.

As Wayne, 36, and Jamie, 35, played together during the Euro 2016 tournament it was rumoured the pair had a feud after the captain warned Jamie about his wife's behaviour.

During the libel court hearing, Wayne gave evidence under oath about the conversation with his England teammate.

Wayne said of the alleged conversation: "They asked me as captain to see if I could speak to Mr Vardy on issues regarding his wife. We all knew that it was an awkward subject so I needed to speak to Mr Vardy and ask him to speak to his wife – and ask him to ask his wife to calm down."

Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney are understood to have had a close working relationship (2016 The FA)

He added: "It was awkward for me to have to speak to a team-mate regarding his wife."

Outside court, Jamie blasted the evidence as "nonsense" in a statement. He said: "Wayne is talking nonsense. He must be confused because he never spoke to me about issues concerning Becky’s media work at Euro 2016.

"There was nothing to speak about, I know this because I discuss everything with Becky."

England manager Roy Hodgson also insisted there were "absolutely no problems" between Wayne and Jamie.

Jamie Vardy branded Wayne Rooney's claims as 'nonsense' outside court (Reuters)

He previously told a press conference: "In fact, quite the opposite, they are very close friends both on the field and off the field. I certainly would advise Wayne of giving no comment to it because it’s obviously one very salacious story that someone’s managed to sort of spin, but it’s got no interest to us."

When Coleen made her sensational accusation that Rebekah had been selling stories about her to a tabloid, it provoked a huge upset for Rebekah and divided the WAG and celebrity community.

Coleen's explosive statement sparked a divide in the WAG and celebrity world (PA)

The fellow WAG was pregnant with her fifth child, daughter Olivia who was born in 2019 and was "inconsolable" over Coleen’s accusation.

Coleen's explosive post was liked by WAGs Chantelle Heskey, Danielle Lloyd and Lizzie Cundy as they all threw their support behind pal Coleen.

Chantelle later appeared on Victoria Derbyshire to show sympathy for Coleen.

She said: "It is heartbreaking to think that someone so close to you would sell stories and leak things like that so I totally get where [Coleen's] coming from."

But Nicola McLean, who is married to footballer Tom Williams, defended Becky in the row ahead of the trial this year.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain in May, 40-year-old Nicola said: "I'm not here to be solely team Becky, but Coleen put that statement out and Rebekah was pregnant.

"I saw all the awful messages to her and I saw how much she was struggling mentally."

The pair probably won't be catching any football matches together again after the explosive case (Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)

Katie Price also weighed in on the fallout shortly after Coleen released her explosive statement. Speaking in a YouTube video, Katie said: "Coleen, I've met her at an event, she seems very nice. Rebekah Vardy, I've met Rebekah Vardy a few times.

"I'm just saying, and I'm not taking sides, but Coleen seems a bit like me. You don't say stuff unless you have evidence."

She then explained: "I'm sorry to say, it's horrible Rebekah's getting all this s**t and everything like that, but I genuinely believe Coleen would not put this statement out unless she had evidence because she could get done for defamatory."

And in May this year, Danielle Lloyd said she was rooting for Coleen as she said: "I think in the grand scheme of things, I don't think there are going to be any winners because they're going to be out of pocket, you know, financially, both of them.

"And I don't think we will actually ever get to the bottom of who actually leaked those stories. So whatever the outcome, obviously, hopefully both girls can just get on with their lives, but obviously I am rooting for Coleen."

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033

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