Wagatha Christie trial day four: The biggest developments as Coleen Rooney admits marriage to Wayne Rooney was in trouble

Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice for day four of the Wagatha Christie trial. (PA)
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice for day four of the Wagatha Christie trial. (PA)

The last day of the Wagatha Christie trial this week sees Rebekah Vardy finish giving evidence, before Coleen Rooney then gives her version of events.

It was an emotional day at the Royal Courts of Justice for Vardy yesterday as she had to leave the stand at points in tears over questioning about private social media posts of Rooney's she is alleged to have leaked to the press.

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Friday's schedule will see Rooney get the chance to talk about what she feels happened and the "sting operation" she carried out to identify the leak.

The trial will resume again on Monday.

Coleen Rooney admits her marriage to Wayne Rooney was in trouble

Former England footballer Wayne Rooney (L) and his wife Coleen Rooney (R) arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice on the fourth day of the high-profile trial against Coleen Rooney who is being sued for libel by Rebekah Vardy after Mrs Rooney publicly accused her of leaking private stories to the press in London, United Kingdom on May 13, 2022. (Photo by Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Coleen Rooney spoke abut her marriage troubles with Wayne Rooney. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Under questioning about the leak of a private Instagram post of her family together in 2017 when she and Wayne were living separately after he was arrested for drink-driving in the car of another woman, Rooney opened up on the state of her marriage at the time.

She had been pregnant and had moved in with her parents for a while, taking her children with her, but shared a private photo which also included Wayne as they tried to work things out which was later leaked.

She said: "I didn't know how my marriage was going to work out. I didn't know what was going on in that relationship so we agreed to work things out. I had not settled on this. Is it that we are getting back together?

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“At this time there was speculation I was back at the house as I was spending a lot of time at my parents' house.

"That was information I was happy to share with my private group and we were trying to sort out the relationship and see where things were going.

"But I didn't want the public to know that. I didn't want them to know, ‘this is it we are getting back together’. I know how quick the press are to jump on things.”

Rebekah Vardy apologises for 'shameful' Peter Andre interview

Peter Andre
Peter Andre has been drawn into the case over an old interview Rebekah Vardy gave about him. (WireImage)

Peter Andre has been linked to the trial this week as he opened up on the years of mocking he endured after Vardy gave a tabloid interview about him in which she is said to have compared his manhood to a "mini chipolata".

Friday saw Vardy's own barrister Hugh Tomlinson QC give her the chance to address the story and her feelings on it now.

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Vardy said she did not say many things in the News Of The World article about a sexual encounter she had with Andre.

She told the court: “There’s a lot of things in there that didn’t come out of my mouth that were misrepresented in the circumstances around that article I’m deeply sorry for.”

She also said she was “very young” at the time, had apologised for the article, and that it was “shameful”, adding that she had sent “personal messages” to Andre and his partner since it was published.

Rebekah Vardy says stress of Wagatha Christie accusations left her fearful of losing her baby

Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, for the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney. Picture date: Friday May 13, 2022.
Rebekah Vardy has spoken about the stress the case has caused her. (PA)

Vardy has spoken before about the stress and upset that the sting operation accusations and abuse related to them caused her during her 2019 pregnancy.

She was in tears again on Friday as she recalled the tough personal time leading up to giving birth in December 2019, saying it had left her fearful of miscarriage.

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Talking about her claims to have accidentally deleted WhatsApp messages that were intended to be used as evidence in the trial while apparently trying to export them to a laptop, she said: “I wasn’t very well, I was having constant panic attacks, anxiety, I was scared I was going to lose my baby.”

Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, for the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney. Picture date: Friday May 13, 2022.
Rebekah Vardy finished giving evidence on Friday morning. (PA)

She also had to leave the stand for a break after crying during questions about having messaged Mirror showbiz journalist Simon Boyle last year.

Vardy said of her reasons for contacting him: “I was angry, I was angry at repeated articles mocking my misery, mocking my hurt, mocking my upset”.

She objected to being seen as “entertainment”, adding: “I didn’t find it funny. It was hurtful. It was upsetting. This was my life.”

Coleen Rooney begins giving evidence

Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, for the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney. Picture date: Friday May 13, 2022.
Coleen Rooney takes the witness stand on Friday. (PA)

The court has the opportunity to hear the other side of the Wagatha Christie story from today as Rooney is sworn in as a witness.

She began by saying that Vardy would regularly contact her when her personal life was covered by the media, but as they weren't close friends she believed Vardy was fishing for information.

“I felt like when she contacted me it was to try and get information out of me,” she said.

Former England footballer Wayne Rooney (L) and his wife Coleen Rooney (R) arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice on the fourth day of the high-profile trial against Coleen Rooney who is being sued for libel by Rebekah Vardy after Mrs Rooney publicly accused her of leaking private stories to the press in London, United Kingdom on May 13, 2022. (Photo by Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Coleen Rooney has been accompanied by husband Wayne Rooney at court. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Vardy’s messages to her came “when something not nice was going on in my personal life”, Rooney claimed. She said Vardy’s messages were “generally nice”, but added that “towards the end its was a bit unusual”.

“Someone who was not that close to me… constantly checking in with me all the time,” Rooney said.

Tomlinson said it must have been obvious that her sting operation post would cause abuse to be aimed at Vardy, but Rooney replied: “No that’s not my intention at all. I wouldn’t ever, it’s not in my nature to cause abuse or trolling in any way at all.”

Coleen Rooney says Rebekah Vardy using her late sister as a reason to get in contact made her 'sick'

Hugh Tomlinson QC questioning Coleen Rooney as she gives evidence at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, during the high-profile libel battle between herself and Rebekah Vardy. Picture date: Friday May 13, 2022.
A court artist's impression of Hugh Tomlinson QC questioning Coleen Rooney as she gives evidence at the Royal Courts Of Justice. (PA)

Rooney said a message between Vardy and her agent referencing her deceased sister “knocked me sick” when it was disclosed.

She wrote in her witness statement: “While they were discussing her messaging me in order to cover her tracks, Becky says to Caroline Watt ‘maybe I should say something about Rosie’.

“Rosie is a reference to my sister who suffered with Rett Syndrome and passed away in 2013 at the age of just 14.

“The mere fact that Becky would suggest seeking to use Rosie’s name in conversation with me in order to put me off the scent of suspecting Becky as the person responsible for leaking my private information to The Sun is really low and sad.

“It actually knocked me sick when I read that message from Becky to Caroline.”

The trial continues.

Watch: Peter Andre shares his thoughts on Rebecca Vardy 'chipolata' comments