Coleen Rooney has reportedly fired her legal team after they told her this week that her case against Rebekah Vardy ‘isn’t very strong’ – leaving things ‘a total mess’.
The footballers’ wives have been at loggerheads after Coleen, 34, accused Rebekah, 38, of leaking stories about her last year, with the pair holding a video meeting last month in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a very public and expensive court hearing.
But that went badly, according to insiders, with Coleen now allegedly seeking new lawyers.
WAG-gate: Coleen Rooney (left) has reportedly fired her legal team after they told her this week that her case against Rebekah Vardy (right) ‘isn’t very strong’ – leaving things ‘a total mess’
According to The Sun, a source claimed: ‘Coleen thought it was a total certainty she was in the right. But now she’s been told she may have made some mistakes along the way and is keen to shift the blame to anyone else. It’s a total mess.
‘Along the way, something has been hidden from everyone else involved and it could end up costing them the whole case.
‘Coleen still won’t back down — and now she’s decided who to hold responsible, she is planning to fork out big time and hire a very expensive London legal team who are specialists in media and privacy work. She’ll do anything in her power to salvage things.’
It’s claimed that Coleen has not admitted to ‘a crucial detail of her efforts to catch Becky red-handed’.
MailOnline has approached reps for both women for comment.
According to The Sun , a source claimed: ‘Coleen thought it was a total certainty she was in the right. But now she’s been told she may have made some mistakes along the way and is keen to shift the blame to anyone else. It’s a total mess’
Bitter: It’s claimed that Coleen has not admitted to ‘a crucial detail of her efforts to catch Becky red-handed’ (pictured in 2016)
Last month, the pair failed to reach a resolution, meaning their dispute could go to the High Court.
A source has said: ‘The girls are still no further forward, so it’s now going to have to be heard in court.
‘It’s a shame it has come to this but there is no other way. Coleen has plenty of evidence and she isn’t frightened to show it.’
The women held an online Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation meeting in May alongside their lawyers after it was claimed the wife of Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy, threatened to sue Coleen for libel.
Coleen, whose husband Wayne is player-coach at Derby County, is thought to be countersuing for breach of privacy.
The statement: In October, Coleen publicly accused Rebekah in an explosive statement of selling fake stories about her, sparking an angry denial from the then-pregnant WAG
The pair’s row began last October, when Coleen revealed details of her investigation into the source of a series of stories about her family, and claimed Becky was responsible for sharing the stories, something she denied.
It sparked an extraordinary war of words between the pair and Coleen’s close pals are now insisting she won’t back down, saying: ‘She has the evidence – it’s all there. It’s a case of ‘bring it on’.
‘Her evidence is absolutely bullet-proof and she stands by it all. Obviously it isn’t ideal but Coleen will follow it through. She’s the one in the right here.’
Earlier this week it was reported that Becky and Coleen were set to face off in their first virtual meeting since the feud was ignited seven months ago, and the TV star reportedly said she would settle for nothing less than a public apology.
A source told The Sun: ‘Becky is adamant she’s done nothing wrong and while she wants an end to this ongoing legal battle, she also wants to be vindicated. Becky has told her team she wants a public apology.
‘I don’t need the money’: Rebekah denied all accusations against her minutes after the post and said she had nothing to gain and had no financial motivation
‘She was really hurt that Coleen went straight on social media to lay blame at her door, rather than speaking to her privately.
‘She has maintained her innocence throughout and doesn’t want this to be brushed under the carpet without Coleen publicly apologising to her for the fallout which followed, including a huge amount of abuse on social media.’
Rebekah and Wayne Rooney’s wife were previously good pals until Coleen made the shock allegation in an explosive social media statement.
MailOnline contacted representatives for both Rebekah and Coleen for comment at the time.
The women were said to be holding an arbitration hearing via Zoom in a bid to avoid an expensive court case after racking up legal costs in the ‘five figures’.
Rebekah has allegedly ‘threatened to sue for libel’ while Coleen has warned she will hit back with a ‘countersue for breach of privacy’.
The sourse said: ‘Along the way, something has been hidden from everyone else involved and it could end up costing them the whole case’
The two were said to be scheduled to appear at the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with their lawyers.
In October, Coleen admitted that stories about her basement flooding, returning to TV and gender selection were only viewed by Rebekah and these were subsequently followed by media outlets, including MailOnline.
Rebekah, who denies all allegations, cut her family holiday to Dubai short after Coleen’s dramatic accusation, which captured Britain in the so-called ‘war of the WAGs’ and earned Coleen the nickname of ‘Wagatha Christie’ by fans.
At the time, sources close to Rebekah said leading law firm, Kingsley Napley, had sent Coleen a letter on her behalf demanding she provides them with the evidence she has against Becky so that she can complete her investigation.
The insider added: ‘Coleen still won’t back down — and now she’s decided who to hold responsible, she is planning to fork out big time and hire a very expensive London legal team who are specialists in media and privacy work. She’ll do anything in her power to salvage things’
Becky is said to have called in a forensic team to analyse her Instagram account following the explosive claims. The aim is to identify the mole who sold fake stories to The Sun from Coleen’s Instagram account.
Coleen wrote on October 9: ‘For a few years now someone who I trusted to follow me on my personal Instagram account has been consistently informing The Sun newspaper of my private posts and stories.
‘There has been so much information given to them about me, my friends and my family – all without my permission or knowledge.
‘After a long time of trying to figure out who it could be, for various reasons, I had a suspicion. To try and prove this, I came up with an idea, I blocked everyone from viewing Instagram except ONE account.’
She continued: ‘(Those on my private account must have been wondering why I haven’t had stories on there for a while).
‘Over the past five months I have posted a series of false stories to see if they made their way into the Sun newspaper.
Cryptic: The mother-of-four tweeted these words back in January, highlighting how she has been trying to get to the bottom of who was leaking stories on her life for some time
‘And you know what, they did! The story about gender selection in Mexico, the story about returning to TV and then the latest story about the basement flood in my new house.
‘It’s been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know for certain which account/individual it’s come from.
‘I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s……… Rebekah Vardy’s account.’
She also wrote: ‘This has been a burden in my life for a few years now and finally I have got to the bottom of it……’
Explosive: The drama captured Britain in the so-called ‘war of the WAGs’ and earned Coleen the nickname of ‘Wagatha Christie’ by fans (Coleen pictured in 2016)
Rebekah hit back minutes later on social media and denied the accusations, she wrote: ‘Can’t believe I’m even having to write this. I’m pregnant & on holiday & am at a loss to why she would do this.
‘I’m now having to take legal advice as I can’t deal with this stress myself when I’m this pregnant. As I have just said to you on the phone, I wish you had called me if you thought this.
‘I never speak to anyone about you as various journalists who have asked me to over the years can vouch for. If you thought this was happening you can could have told me & I could have changed my passwords to see if it stopped.’
She continued: ‘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? I liked you a lot Coleen & I’m so upset that you have chosen to do this especially when I’m heavily pregnant.
‘I’m disgusted that I’m even having to deny this. You should have called me the first time this happened.’