'I called Coleen and said what the f*** is this': Vardy speaks out after Wagatha defeat

3 August 2022, 06:44 | Updated: 4 August 2022, 06:02

Rebekah Vardy has described the moment she confronted Coleen Rooney over her "Wagatha Christie" post and yelled "what the f*** is this?!"

In a wide-ranging interview, she described how she had been branded "a rat, a troll" and received 100 abusive messages a day by people who tried to link her to Isis or the Madeleine McCann disappearance.

The wife of ex-England international Jamie Vardy has spoken out after losing a High Court libel case.

A judge found Ms Rooney's claim on social media that Ms Vardy had been leaking "false stories"about her private life to the press was substantially true.

Speaking to The Sun, Ms Vardy described how her manager Caroline Watts contacted her during a trip to Dubai to say what Ms Rooney, the wife of footballer Wayne, had posted in October 2019.

The mother of five said: "All of a sudden my phone imploded. I had a missed call from a withheld number, but then she [Coleen] messaged me and said: 'I've been trying to call you'.

"I picked up the phone and called her and basically said, 'What the f*** is this?'

"Her response was quite rude, quite harsh, and she basically just said, 'You know what this is'.

"And at that point I really didn't know what it was. It was like, 'No, surely this can't be real; no one would do that."

Ms Rooney said she had planted three fake stories which were later leaked after being viewed by Ms Vardy's Instagram account.

Read more: Devastated Rebekah Vardy hits out after Wagatha Christie verdict: 'Judge got it wrong'

The legal costs from the Wagatha case are thought to be around £3m, most of which will fall on 40-year-old Ms Vardy.

But despite the fraught court case, she said she would still take Ms Rooney for a coffee.

"Life is too short to be resentful and hold grudges and be bitter towards someone. That is not me. I am not that person," she said.

Rebekah Vardy leaves court on final day of Wagatha trial

Ms Vardy also described how she was getting 100 abusive messages every day.

"The whole thing has been awful. At its worst, I was worried to be on my own, to leave the house. I was scared to be out in public places," she said.

"Even the smallest things, like going shopping, were horrendous."

Read more: It's....Coleen's victory: Key moments of blockbuster Vardy vs Rooney Wagatha Christie case

"Everyone always says: 'These people wouldn't say things to your face', but actually you do get the odd few that go that extra mile.

"The abuse I was getting was insane. At the beginning it would be 100 messages a day.

"I was linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, people suggesting I was a member of [terror group] IS, stuff like that.

"It was as if I'd murdered someone."