Wagatha Christie trial: Legal dispute explained as Rebekah Vardy loses libel case against Coleen Rooney

On Friday, July 29, 2022, a verdict was reached regarding a high-profile trial, which was dubbed the 'Wagatha Christie' trial by the British media. 'Wagatha Christie', which is a clever play on the term 'WAG' or 'The Wives and Girlfriends' of nationally popular soccer players, and the famous sleuth fiction writer Agatha Christie, was a trial between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy, both prominent public personalities.

In May this year, Rooney, wife of former star footballer Wayne Rooney, faced fellow 'wag' Rebekah Vardy in a highly publicized libel trial. What had started as a social media feud, not uncommon in the world of entertainment, ended in a glamorous trial, which was brought to an end by the High Court on Friday, with Rooney emerging victorious.

In a very public revelation three years ago, Colleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of infringing upon her privacy by leaking private stories to the public through The Sun tabloid. In response, Vardy slapped a libel accusation against Rooney, claiming that the defamatory acts had ruined her reputation.

However, Justice Karen Steyn, failed to see the "sting of libel" that Vardy had claimed. Furthermore, the court labeled her as an "untrustworthy witness," who potentially destroyed valuable information demanded by the law. The court believes that Vardy was in cahoots with her agent, Caroline Watt, who worked with tabloid journalists to leak Coleen Rooney's private Instagram posts. The excuse supplied by Vardy of Watts accidentally dropping her mobile phone in the North Sea immediately after legal authorities requested a search of their WhatsApp correspondence was deemed unbelievable by Justice Steyn.

The 'Wagatha Christie' verdict comes as a major setback for Vardy in terms of huge financial loss as well as the complete destruction of her public image. She believes that the ruling was wrong. In a statement, Rebekah Vardy said:

"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...she got it wrong and this is something I cannot accept."

Rooney, though happy about her legal victory, took to Instagram to say that she never wished for the feud to reach the court of law. The British footballer's wife said:

"It was not a case I ever sought or wanted. Both before and after my social media posts in October 2019, I made constant efforts to avoid the need for such a public and drawn out court case. But all my efforts to do so were knocked back by Mrs Vardy and her lawyers. This left me with no alternative but to go through with the case to defend myself and to end the repeated leaking of my private information to The Sun."

---

2019 'Wagatha Christie' trial explored in the midst of a crushing defeat for Rebekah Vardy

The viral phrase from 2019, "It's..........Rebekah Vardy," has its origins in a high-profile celebrity feud which led to one of the most glamorous trials in British legal history. In October 2019, Coleen Rooney took to social media to express her disappointment at her private matters being made public without her consent. She also spoke about her amateur sleuthing skills and revealed in a manner fit for an Agatha Christie bestseller that it was Vardy who was selling her information to tabloids for financial and social gains.

Vardy, in turn, had refuted these allegations and sued her former friend for libel, which led to the expensive 'Wagatha Christie' trial.

The British Court, however, found Vardy's case flimsy and called her evidence:

"manifestly inconsistent with the contemporaneous documentary evidence, evasive or implausible.”

The highly publicized 'Wagatha Christie' trial came to an end on Friday as Mrs Vardy refused to take further action.