Wagatha Christie: Who won Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy court case?

Rooney entered the I'm a Celebrity jungle on Sunday 17th November, alongside the likes of Jane Moore, GK Barry and more, all of whom have shown an interest in what many now refer to as Wagatha Christie.

The aforementioned saga first began in 2019 when Coleen accused Rebekah Vardy's Instagram account of leaking stories about her private life to the press.

With Coleen Rooney now appearing on I'm a Celebrity, read on to find out who won the high-profile libel case.

What is the Wagatha Christie scandal about?

The term was first pegged in October 2019, when Coleen Rooney posted a statement on social media, saying she had carried out a "sting operation" to find out who was allegedly leaking "false stories" about her private and family life to The Sun.

The statement, which led to Rooney being nicknamed Wagatha Christie, read: "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. There has been so much information given to them about me, my friends and my family – all without my permission or knowledge.

"After a long time of trying to figure out who it could be, for various reasons, I had a suspicion. To try and prove this I came up with an idea. I blocked everyone from viewing my Instagram stories except one account. (Those on my private account must have been wondering why I haven’t had stories on there for a while.)

"It's been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know from certain which account/individual it's come from.

"I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s … Rebekah Vardy's account."

Rebekah Vardy strongly denied the claims and responded with a lengthy statement of her own.

Vardy posted the statement on her Instagram, saying she was "disgusted" she had to deny the claims.

"Can’t believe I’m even having to write this," she posted. "I’m pregnant & on holiday & am at a loss to why she would do this. I’m now having to take legal advice as I can’t deal with this stress myself when I’m this pregnant."

In June 2020, Vardy went on to sue Rooney for libel and in May 2022, the trial was brought to the High Court.

Who won the court case between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy?

In July 2022, Rebekah Vardy lost her libel case against Coleen Rooney. Justice Karen Steyn ruled that Rooney's social media posts accusing Vardy of leaking stories to the tabloid newspaper were "substantially true".

Vardy said in a statement she was "extremely sad and disappointed" at the judge's decision.

She said (as per BBC News): "It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just. I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the judge's finding."

Coleen Rooney said she was "pleased" the ruling was in her favour.

She wrote on Instagram: "Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill will, today's judgement makes clear that I was right in what I said on my Instagram post."

In a ruling, Judge Justice Steyn said that Vardy must pay 90 per cent of Rooney's legal costs.

In The Real Wagatha Story, Rooney says she felt a "sense of relief" after the trial. After finding out the verdict, Rooney explains: "I teared up and it just didn't sink in."

I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! continues nightly at 9pm on ITV1, STV and ITVX.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.