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Rebekah Vardy sues Coleen Rooney for defamation after her Instagram sting reveal

Nine months after Coleen Rooney, wife of English soccer star and D.C. United forward Wayne Rooney, publicly accused Rebekah Vardy, wife of Rooney’s former England teammate Jamie Vardy, with leaking stories the saga continues in court proceedings.

Vardy launched defamation proceedings against Rooney at a high court in London, the Guardian reported, and said the stress has caused her to have severe anxiety attacks. She said earlier this year she was hospitalized due to the stress of online abuse.

Rooney accuses Vardy of leaking stories

How the situation got to this point is honestly impressive. In October, Rooney shared on Instagram a “burden in my life for a few years now” and detailed a five-month Instagram sting to be able to say it was Vardy.

To boil it down: Rooney began blocking people from her Instagram stories and would post falsehoods to see if they made it to the Sun newspaper. They did, and she said once she cut it down to one it had to be Vardy. The move also earned Rooney the nickname “Wagatha Christie.”

Vardy, a reality TV star, denied it on Instagram in a statement and said various people had access to her personal account, so it wasn’t necessarily her. She also made note that she was “heavily pregnant,” a bad time to unveil the sting.

Vardy files defamation charges

Jamie Vardy's wife Rebekah Vardy looks on prior to  the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia 3rd Place Playoff match between Belgium and England at Saint Petersburg Stadium on July 14, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Jamie Vardy's wife Rebekah Vardy plans to sue Coleen Rooney, wife of Wayne Rooney, for defamation. (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

The two have run up legal bills in the time since, per The Guardian, with Vardy preparing to file a defamation suit.

Media lawyer Mark Stephens told the site that Vardy’s lawyers will likely focus on how Rooney got the information and put it on her team to prove no one else in the world knew the stories posted on the account.

Via The Guardian:

“There are a number of flaws with that, because those in her intimate circle will have been told what’s going on. And the technological way she did it isn’t entirely foolproof. It may well have been that Rebekah Vardy told people within her social circle and they leaked it, entirely without her knowledge or approval.”

Mediation attempts have reportedly failed between the two. If there is still no agreement, the defamation case will go to trial. A case would likely begin in 2021.

And it seems highly unlikely the two will come to an understanding, at least given a comment by Vardy to the Daily Mail when asked if they’ve argued about it.

“That would be like arguing with a pigeon,” Vardy replied. “You can tell it that you are right and it is wrong, but it's still going to s--- in your hair.”

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