Rebekah Vardy has sat down for her first interview since losing her libel case against Coleen Rooney last week.
In a teaser clip for her chat with TalkTV presenter Kate McCann, which will be released on Wednesday, the WAG once again denied leaking stories about Coleen to the press.
“I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face, I did not do it,” she said.
EXCLUSIVE: Rebekah Vardy speaks to TalkTV’s Kate McCann.
Watch ‘Coleen and me…’ – Wednesday 3rd August at 7pm, only on @TalkTV.
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“I feel let down by a lot of people, a lot of things. But most importantly I feel let down by the legal system.”
The clip ended with Rebekah saying, “I’m going to cry,” before she put her head in her hands.
Rebekah launched a libel lawsuit against Coleen back in 2020, after she publicly accused her of leaking “false stories” about her private life.
In October 2019, the wife of Wayne Rooney claimed she planted false information on her private Instagram page and blocked everyone from her story – except Rebekah’s account.
The mother-of-four said stories about her basement flooding, returning to TV, and gender selection were only viewed by Rebekah’s account – and the false stories all made it into the press.
Coleen believed this was proof that the fellow WAG allegedly sold stories about her private life, but Rebekah vehemently denied her claims.
Their legal battle concluded with a highly-publicised trial at London’s High Court in May, which saw both WAGs give evidence in court.
Rebekah tried to prove she wasn’t behind the leaks, however, Coleen defended her claim in court on the basis her post was “substantially true”.
The judge overseeing the case, Mrs Justice Steyn, delivered her written ruling last Friday at midday.
In her ruling, the judge agreed with Coleen’s defence, and said it was “likely” that Rebekah’s then-agent, Caroline Watt, “undertook the direct act” of passing the information to The Sun newspaper.
Her judgement read: “Nonetheless, the evidence… clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.”
“In my judgment, the conclusions that I have reached as to the extent to which the claimant engaged in disclosing to the Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account which she knew, and Mrs Rooney repeatedly asserted, was private, suffice to show the single meaning is substantially true.”
On Friday, Rooney welcomed her victory in the case, but said she “never believed it should have gone to court”.
In a statement, the mother-of-four said: “Naturally, I am pleased the judge has found in my favour in her judgement today. 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.”
“The leaks from my private Instagram account began in 2017. They continued for almost two years, intruding on my privacy and that of my family,” she continued.
“Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill will, today’s judgement makes clear that I was right in what I said in my Instagram posts.”
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“Finally, I would to thank all of my legal team, my family and friends and everyone who has supported me – including the public – through this difficult and stressful time.”
In her own statement, Rebekah said she was “devastated” over the verdict.
“I am extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the judge has reached. It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just,” the 40-year-old confessed.
“I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the judge’s finding.”
Rebekah added: “As I explained in my evidence I, my family and even my unborn baby, were subjected to disgusting messages and vile abuse following Coleen’s post and these have continued even during the course of the trial.”
“Please can the people who have been abusing me and my family now stop. The case is over. I want to thank everyone who has supported me.”
