The Wagatha Christie feud has flared up again after Coleen Rooney discussed the court case in the Rooneys' new Disney+ docuseries, risking the wrath of Rebekah Vardy.
Vardy recently said she was so bored of the saga, and she previously trademarked the term Wagatha in an attempt to control the narrative around the dispute. But Coleen's decision to revisit the case on camera has dragged the row back into the spotlight, to the delight of a public that has never tired of it.
Coleen won the 2022 High Court libel battle after proving her claim that Vardy leaked her private Instagram posts to The Sun was substantially true. The judgment was a devastating defeat for Vardy, leaving her with a legal bill estimated at more than 3 million pounds and her reputation in tatters.
The original case gripped the nation. Coleen's painstaking social media sting operation, in which she turned detective to identify the source of the leaks, became one of the most talked-about celebrity stories of the decade. Wayne Rooney gave evidence in support of his wife during the trial, and the courtroom drama played out daily in the press.
Vardy has always maintained her innocence, and her allies say she has been unfairly vilified. But the court's findings were unambiguous, and her attempts to move on have been repeatedly frustrated by fresh reminders of the case. Her trademarking of the Wagatha name was seen by some as an attempt to profit from the notoriety, and by others as a bid to reclaim the story.
The Disney+ series was meant to tell the Rooneys' story on their own terms, a glossy look at their life together. Instead, it has reignited one of the bitterest feuds in British celebrity culture, and Vardy's response is awaited with interest by everyone who remembers the original trial.
The original Wagatha Christie trial was a media sensation, with the High Court hearing days of evidence about Instagram leaks, deleted messages and missing phones. The judge's findings against Vardy were comprehensive, and the costs order that followed was one of the largest in recent libel history. Since then, both women have tried to move on, with Coleen focusing on her family and media projects and Vardy attempting to rebuild her public image. The docuseries has undone that fragile peace. Television executives will be delighted at the renewed interest, but for the two women at the centre of it, the feud remains a source of evident pain.