At the start of I’m A Celeb, Rebekah Vardy was keen to see Coleen Rooney eat all manner of nasty things in a jungle trial. By the end of the show, she had made a bid for peace
It was the feud that spawned the memorable moniker Wagatha Christie, in tribute to Coleen Rooney’s quest to discover which friend was selling stories on her.
“It’s…. Rebekah Vardy’s account” the WAG memorably shared on Instagram after she completed her investigation, leading to a libel case brought by Rebekah which she lost, facing a bill for millions of pounds in legal costs.
One brutal text message read out in the High Court case in May 2022 saw Rebekah reportedly brand Coleen a ‘stupid cow’. Another seemingly called her a ‘nasty b***h’, although Rebekah claimed not to be referring to her fellow WAG.
“It was a really stressful time, but I’ve put it all behind me and released that stress,” Coleen told Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Podcast. “I’m in a better place now, it was difficult, but I am much more present. I have more time to give to the children and think about myself and go back to work.”
Coleen went onto appear in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! this year, finishing runner up to McFly’s Danny Jones. Before she headed into the jungle Rebekah was rumoured to be hatching a ‘revenge plot’ against her WAG rival, telling The Sun: “ITV should get me in that jungle as a special guest. What are they scared of? Confrontation? But isn’t that what the show’s all about? It’s about viewing figures.”
The WAG didn’t make an appearance on the ITV show, instead writing a diary for the newspaper with her thoughts on the series. At the start, she expressed her hopes about seeing Coleen being “forced to eat bull’s penis, ostrich bum and humble pie” on the show. But by the time I’m A Celeb ended, Rebekah looked to have mellowed.
“Coleen has had a fab series,” she said. “She has really done well and made herself proud. Yes, I know you’re all waiting for me to say otherwise,” added the star. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but it’s just not happening.”
Coleen used her Wagatha skills to great effect in the jungle, quickly discerning that the Jungle Junkyard was not living in squalor as it purported to be but rather a luxury abode. The WAG also smelled a rat when her campmate Danny claimed to have spotted a koala to distract her when he as on a secret mission.
Asked about her first rate detective skills by Ant and Dec following her exit from the jungle she admitted: “I’m quite good at sniffing things out. I can weigh people up well…’
As for Rebekah’s new, mellowed view on her arch rival, it remains to be seen if this will last. “It’s really, really time to move on and end the year with a positive,” she said.