It seems that Wayne Rooney was so captivated by the Wagatha Christie case he nearly considered pivoting to become a lawyer.
It's undeniable the dispute between the football manager's wife Coleen Rooney, and Jamie Vardy's wife, Rebekah Vardy that first emerged in 2019, has been absurdly enthralling, cementing itself as one of the most iconic beefs in British pop culture.
As the Instagram whodunit that resulted in a libel case won by Rooney has been the subject of numerous dramatisations for TV and the stage, one can only imagine how intense it must've been for someone so closely involved as Wayne was.
The former Manchester United forward isn't to blame for having been so fascinated with the trial preparation to go as far as suggesting legal arguments to support his wife.
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Wayne regularly attended the daily briefings with Coleen and her lawyers, Paul Lunt and David Sherborne, where he would suggest legal routes.
"Wayne shut up and let David or Paul speak," Coleen recalled telling her husband on one occasion in the Disney plus doc Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story.
"He was then going to apply for law school and he had all these plans," she continued.
Lawyer Jamie Hurworth confirmed Wayne's fascination with the trial.
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"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," he said.
"Wayne started suggesting, like, legal argument that we should start running."
Lunt added Wayne was 'bang up' for asking questions.
"I'm not saying he is a modern day Columbo but certainly had we have given him a gown and a wig he was bang up for asking a few questions," the barrister said.
For his part, Rooney professed his love of crime documentaries, admitting taking an interest in Coleen's two lawyers' different approaches.
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"Yeah, it was interesting because I do like crime documentaries and in particular the different techniques the two barristers used," Rooney said.
In 2019, Coleen Rooney accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking posts from her private Instagram account to The Sun. In 2020, Vardy sued Rooney for libel but Vardy's claim was ultimately dismissed in July 2022 as a court found Rooney's accusations to be true.
"Days after I put the post out, her legal team got in touch," Coleen said. "I never imagined being in a legal battle for anything, never mind being in a legal battle for a post I put up on social media."
"Little did I know it was going to be the beginning of one of the horriblest times I have been through in my life."
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Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story is streaming on Disney+.
Topics: Coleen Rooney, Wayne Rooney, Disney Plus, Rebekah Vardy, Documentaries, Social Media
Stefania Sarrubba