Four years ago, Coleen Rooney emerged victorious over Rebekah Vardy following their High Court battle. But this was far from the end of the War of the WAGs08:46, 29 Jul 2026Updated 08:54, 29 Jul 2026Four years ago today, Coleen Rooney walked out of London's High Court victorious, with the judge ruling in her favour in what was arguably the most talked about legal showdown in celebrity history.‌The saga began in 2019, when Coleen, the wife of former England star Wayne Rooney, publicly accused fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy of leaking private stories about her to The Sun newspaper. With detective skills that would see her dubbed 'Wagatha Christie', Coleen, now 40, planted false Instagram stories that only Rebekah could see.‌Sure enough, fictional stories about a flooded basement at her Cheshire mansion and a trip to a gender selection clinic in Mexico soon made headlines, confirming the mother-of-four's suspicions. Presenting her findings to social media followers, Coleen dropped a bombshell that left the internet quaking: "I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories, which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's....... Rebekah Vardy's account."‌Rebekah, 44, vehemently denied any wrongdoing and proceeded to sue Coleen for libel in 2020. The trial opened in May 2022, with Rebekah's claim dismissed two months later on the grounds that Coleen's statements were "substantially true".Mrs Justice Steyn asserted that it was "likely that Rebekah's agent at the time, Caroline Watt, "undertook the direct act" of giving information to The Sun. However, she also added: "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."‌Reflecting on the verdict at the time, Coleen said: "Today’s judgment makes clear that I was right in what I said in my posts of October 2019." Rebekah, meanwhile, said that she was "extremely sad and disappointed" by the decision, which she did not believe "was just".It proved to be an expensive loss. Rebekah was ordered to pay 90 per cent of Coleen's legal fees, on top of her own, landing her with an eye-watering estimated bill of £3 million.Here, the Mirror takes a look back at the wildest moments of the whole 'Wagatha Christie' saga, from crude sex life swipes to jealousy accusations.‌Euros faux pasWhile the all-out war may have begun online, friction actually started in the stands during England's 2-1 victory over Wales at the 2016 Euros. In an incident that would later be raised in court, Rebekah reportedly "refused" to move after she and her entourage allegedly hijacked seats belonging to the Football Association’s family liaison officer, Harpreet Robertson.The strategic move was reportedly designed to ensure Vardy was positioned directly behind Wayne Rooney's popular wife, Coleen. In her witness statement, Harpreet claimed that Rebekah had deliberately placed herself "right in the eyeline” of any camera fixed on Coleen in order to guarantee exposure.‌Harpreet, who had already allocated perfectly good seats for Rebecca's party, recalled the confrontation: "I asked them to move, but they refused . . . remarking words to the effect of, 'We can sit where we like, f**k off’ An altercation followed which almost reduced me to tears. I soon realised that these people were the guests of Becky."While Rebekah claimed she'd only sat there because Coleen's group had inadvertently taken their original seats, Harpreet remained unconvinced. The liaison officer said a "verbally abusive" Rebekah spent the match "constantly on her phone, often taking selfies and generally showing very little interest in the match itself".Rebekah's alternative theory‌Following the initial accusations, Rebekah, the wife of Leicester City player Jamie Vardy, suggested her account had been hacked. In a post finished off with a broken heart emoji, Rebekah expressed her dismay at the allegations, hitting back: "If you thought this was happening, you could have told me & I could have changed my passwords to see if it stopped."Over the years various people have had access to my insta & just this week I found I was following people I didn't know and have never followed myself. I’m not being funny but I don’t need the money, what would I gain from selling stories on you?"Wayne's bizarre role‌Coleen's hubby Wayne so fascinated by the ins and outs of his wife's court case that he considered swapping punditry for law school. In the Disney+ documentary Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, Coleen's lawyer Jamie Hurworth shared: "Once the day was finished, we would have a little debrief with Wayne and Coleen."I had not dealt with Wayne that much before the trial. But he was just fascinated by the whole thing. Wayne started suggesting, like, legal arguments that we should start running." Coleen's lead lawyer, Paul Lunt, then chipped in: "I'm not saying he is a modern-day Columbo, but certainly had we given him a gown and a wig, he was bang up for asking a few questions."Wayne himself admitted: "Yeah, it was interesting because I do like crime documentaries and in particular the different techniques the two barristers used." Coleen, on the other hand, was less impressed when Wayne contributed to all-important debrief meetings, laughing: "I just said 'Wayne shut up and let David or Paul speak.' He was then going to apply for law school, and he had all these plans. But them little moments carried us through."‌Wayne opened up again about his interest in the law on the Stick to Football podcast, revealing: "When Coleen had the court case with Rebekah Vardy, I was there with the barrister and the lawyers, and I was saying to the barrister, 'You need to ask this question,'" He continued: "I did apply – it was to Nottingham University - I applied to go in and try and study, but then I did go away. I want to do it to get one of those wigs on!"Crude sex life jokeRebekah revealed in a 2024 interview that she'd tried to make peace with Coleen by inviting her for a coffee at Caffè Nero two years prior, and that the offer still stood.‌Speaking to the Sun while Coleen was starring on I'm A Celeb, she said: "Let bygones be bygones. You can't hold grudges forever. Two years ago, I suggested we meet for a coffee at Caffè Nero — and that offer still stands. Perhaps now it might need to be over a lot of wine, though.Rebekah also said that she hoped Coleen would be forced to 'eat bull's penis, ostrich bum and humble pie' in the jungle. When asked whether or not a camel testicle could be the worst thing Coleen has ever had in her mouth, Rebekah crudely replied: "I don't know. You have to look at her husband for that one."Health struggles‌In her candid Disney documentary, Coleen revealed the legal war had taken its toll on her physical and mental health, sharing: "It caused anxiety, and there were lots of tears. I have reactive arthritis. I've had it previously, but this situation brought it on a lot more."According to the NHS, reactive arthritis causes redness and swelling (inflammation) to different joints, often affecting a person's knees, feet, toes, hips and ankles. This illness often develops after suffering from an infection or food poisoning and will usually clear up within a few months.Remembering the painful time, Coleen recalled: "It hit home just how low I was at that time. My emotions really came out, and that made the interview process quite intense, but then it was also a good chance to reflect. I stuck to my guns from beginning to end. My story never changed from day one, and I was telling the truth."‌Coleen also discussed how her ordeal had caused her to withdraw, explaining: "It stripped me of my character, and I didn't want to socialise with people. I was completely in my own world. It was not a nice place to be."Jamie and Wayne tensionBack in 2022, the court heard how Wayne was told by ex-England manager Roy Hodgson and then assistant manager Gary Neville to speak with striker Jamie over 'issues regarding his wife'.‌Taking to the witness box, Wayne revealed: "They asked me, as captain, would I be able to speak to Mr Vardy on issues regarding his wife, and I think we all knew that it was an awkward subject. I'd need to speak to Mr Vardy and ask him to speak to his wife and ask him to say to ask his wife to calm down."Clarifying that he 'carried out that instruction', Wayne added: "It was an awkward situation for me, and I'm sure it was an awkward situation for Mr Vardy, but I felt it was in the best interests of the team."Vasectomy reveal‌In her Disney+ series, Coleen explained how Wayne's secret vasectomy played a key role in her getting to the bottom of who was leaking stories. Discussing how she came up with the idea to hide all but from Rebekah's account from her Stories came about, Coleen said: "After the birth of every one of my kids, the press are always interested in whether I was ever going to have another baby."The big question is always would you like a girl. I always thought I would have a few kids, maybe three at the most and then number four came along and we knew our family was complete. Me and Wayne talked about him having a vasectomy. He said after this baby 'that's it we are not having anymore'. And Wayne went in and got the snip, so I knew for sure we would not be having anymore children."She added: "I had heard about this procedure where you could choose the gender of your baby, but it is something I have never considered doing. I was going to Mexico with the kids for the Easter holidays. So I came up with the idea of doing a story about going to Mexico to find out some information about gender selection, for me to have a girl. I thought about what information I was going to use. I wanted to do a story with no truth whatsoever."‌Jealousy accusationsIn 2024, interview, Rebekah, who appeared in I'm A Celeb back in 2017, claimed that Coleen had 'always wanted' her life. She said: "We'll be watching avidly. Everyone seems to think I have this massive problem with Coleen going into the jungle. But do you know what? If you want to fan the fire, the flames are going to get higher. I wasn't going to carry on talking about this, I had no intention of talking about it, but she clearly can't let it go.""I mean, we've done a book, we've done a documentary, we're going into the jungle. What's next - Dancing On Ice? She's following in my footsteps. I think she always wanted my life."Article continues belowThe years since appear to have done nothing to cool tensions. In an interview last year, defiant Rebekah declared: "I'm never going to apologise for something I didn't do. Hell will freeze over before I do that." She added: "It's over, it's done, I'm not going to carry on living in the past. I’m so f***ing bored of it."Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. J oin The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , X , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage .