Rebekah Vardy’s ex-husband Steve Clarke has denied claims he “forced” her do a kiss-and-tell interview about Peter Andre in 2004.
On the first day of her Wagatha Christie libel trial against Coleen Rooney, the 40-year-old was quizzed about an interview she did with the News Of The World about Peter.
In the article, Rebekah said the Mysterious Girl singer had “the smallest trouser equipment I’ve ever seen”, which she described as a “miniature chipolata”.
When asked if the interview was “respectful” of Peter Andre in court last week, Rebekah replied, “I was forced into a situation by my ex-husband to do this.”
“It is something that I deeply regret… It is not nice to read and I understand why this is being used and to me this is mudslinging and I was also threatened with mudslinging by Mrs Rooney’s team.”
Rebekah later added she “was in a terrible, terrible relationship” at the time, and said, “The consequences of not doing something were far worse than doing it.”
The WAG’s ex-husband Steve Clarke has since denied her claims during an interview with the UK Mail on Sunday.
The former couple started dating in 2001, after he hired Rebekah at his Oxfordshire timeshare firm.
The pair tied the knot in 2005 but split a year later, and have remained on bad terms ever since.Â
Addressing Rebekah’s claims he “forced” her to do an interview about her alleged one night stand with Peter, Steve insisted she made the decision herself after spotting an appeal in the newspaper for stories about I’m A Celebrity contestants.
Steve alleged: “Becky said to me, ‘Oh look, I should tell them about Peter Andre.’ I asked her why she would want to do that and she replied that it would be a bit of money for her and it would be funny. I told her she should do whatever she wanted to do.”
The 57-year-old said he drove her to a photo studio in South-West London for the interview, but claimed he had no other part in it.
“I was told when we arrived at the studio that it wasn’t a good idea for me to be there because it might influence what Becky may or may not say,” he said.
“I was also told it might be a little embarrassing for me, so she said she would call me when she was finished.”
Steve also recalled Rebekah allegedly boasting about her “night with Peter” in the office before she did her interview with the News of the World.
“Rebekah was chatty, fun and pretty, but I didn’t know much more until everyone started talking about her spending the night with Peter,” he claimed.
“She had told colleagues and it became the talk of the office, within a week of it happening, everybody knew what had happened. She could not keep it quiet.”
He added: “I feel sorry for Peter Andre for what was said about him and now it’s time I spoke out.”
Rebekah’s ex-husband also denied he was ever “abusive” towards her.
“I was never abusive towards Becky, I was never controlling. She did what she wanted, when she wanted and I never raised a hand to her either.”
“The false claims against me have been upsetting me, my family and friends,” he told the outlet.Â
Responding to Steve Clarke’s comments in the Mail on Sunday, Rebekah’s spokesman said: “Mrs Vardy is all too aware of the harrowing truth about this individual and no amount of misogynistic victim shaming will change this.”
Goss.ie has also reached out to Rebekah’s rep for further comment.
