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'Wagatha Christie' offers her side in whodunnit libel case

Danica Kirka

Associated Press

Tags: Jamie Vardy, Agatha Christie, entertainment, Arts, Sports
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Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Friday May 13, 2022. A trial involving two soccer spouses, one of whom publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking her private social media posts to a British tabloid newspaper, opened last Tuesday in London. Rebekah Vardy, 40, sued for libel after Coleen Rooney, 36, accused her of sharing the Instagram content with The Sun newspaper in October 2019. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Coleen and Wayne Rooney leave the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Friday May 13, 2022. A trial involving two soccer spouses, one of whom publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking her private social media posts to a British tabloid newspaper, opened last Tuesday in London. Rebekah Vardy, 40, sued for libel after Coleen Rooney, 36, accused her of sharing the Instagram content with The Sun newspaper in October 2019. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Rebekah Vardy wife of England soccer player Jamie Vardy arrives at the High Court in London, Thursday, May 12, 2022. A trial involving a social media dispute between two soccer spouses has opened in London. Rebekah Vardy sued for libel after Coleen Rooney accused her of sharing her private social media posts with The Sun newspaper. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Rebekah Vardy wife of England soccer player Jamie Vardy arrives at the High Court in London, Thursday, May 12, 2022. A trial involving a social media dispute between two soccer spouses has opened in London. Rebekah Vardy sued for libel after Coleen Rooney accused her of sharing her private social media posts with The Sun newspaper. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Rebekah Vardy, wife of England soccer player Jamie Vardy, arrives at the High Court in London, Thursday, May 12, 2022. A trial involving a social media dispute between two soccer spouses has opened in London. Rebekah Vardy sued for libel after Coleen Rooney accused her of sharing her private social media posts with The Sun newspaper. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Rebekah Vardy wife of England soccer player Jamie Vardy arrives at the High Court in London, Thursday, May 12, 2022. A trial involving a social media dispute between two soccer spouses has opened in London. Rebekah Vardy sued for libel after Coleen Rooney accused her of sharing her private social media posts with The Sun newspaper. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
This court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook shows Coleen Rooney's barrister David Sherborne, center back, questioning Rebekah Vardy, left, as she gives evidence at the Royal Courts Of Justice watched by Coleen and Wayne Rooney, right, in London, Thursday, May 12, 2022. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Friday May 13, 2022. A trial involving two soccer spouses, one of whom publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking her private social media posts to a British tabloid newspaper, opened last Tuesday in London. Vardy, 40, sued for libel after Coleen Rooney, 36, accused her of sharing the Instagram content with The Sun newspaper in October 2019. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Friday May 13, 2022. A trial involving two soccer spouses, one of whom publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking her private social media posts to a British tabloid newspaper, opened last Tuesday in London. Rebekah Vardy, 40, sued for libel after Coleen Rooney, 36, accused her of sharing the Instagram content with The Sun newspaper in October 2019. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Friday May 13, 2022. A trial involving two soccer spouses, one of whom publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking her private social media posts to a British tabloid newspaper, opened last Tuesday in London. Rebekah Vardy, 40, sued for libel after Coleen Rooney, 36, accused her of sharing the Instagram content with The Sun newspaper in October 2019. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Coleen Rooney arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Friday May 13, 2022. A trial involving two soccer spouses, one of whom publicly called out the other for allegedly leaking her private social media posts to a British tabloid newspaper, opened last Tuesday in London. Rebekah Vardy, 40, sued for libel after Coleen Rooney, 36, accused her of sharing the Instagram content with The Sun newspaper in October 2019. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

LONDON – The woman known to British tabloid readers as Wagatha Christie testified Monday about the sleuthing techniques that led to her nickname, saying she posted fake news about herself on social media as a ruse to discover who was leaking stories about her family to the press.

The testimony from Coleen Rooney, wife of English soccer hero Wayne Rooney, came in the fifth day of a libel trial at the High Court in London that pits her against the wife of another soccer star. With the wives and girlfriends of top players —known here as WAGs for short — Rooney became known as Wagatha Christie soon after the story of her detective work became headline news. The nickname is a tabloid homage to the detective novelist Agatha Christie.

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Rooney posted false information about herself on Instagram after blocking all of her followers except the suspected leaker. Then she waited to see if any of the stories appeared in print — and they did.

“I wanted the story to run so I had evidence,” Rooney testified. “I didn’t want the story out there. I wanted it for my own evidence.”

In October 2019, Rooney publicly revealed that the leaks came from the account of Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City star Jamie Vardy. Rebekah Vardy denied being involved and sued Rooney for libel, triggering a courtroom battle that has reportedly cost each side more than 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) in legal fees.

The case has drawn intense interest in Britain because both women are TV personalities closely watched for their style choices — celebrities on their own besides being married to famous athletes.

Rooney said after the leaks began, she publicized her concerns on Instagram in hopes that whoever was responsible would get the message and stop. When the leaks continued, she launched her “sting operation.”

She said she suspected Vardy because she was “fame hungry” and had reacted suspiciously when Rooney stopped following her on Instagram.

When asked why she didn’t confront Vardy with her suspicions, Rooney said she had already given her the chance to come forward and admit what she was doing.

“I had put warning signs out there and Mrs. Vardy, or whoever was on her account, never came to me and said, ‘It was me that has been passing information onto the Sun,’’’ she said. “At that time I didn’t think she would tell the truth anyway, even if I confronted her.”

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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