Rebekah Vardy has hit back at Coleen Rooney’s allegations that her Instagram account was behind fake stories about her appearing in the press.
In a statement posted on Wednesday, Coleen – the wife of footballer Wayne Rooney – claimed that she’d long held suspicions about how certain stories from her private life made their way into the tabloids, so came up with a plan to get to the bottom of the matter.
Revealing the leaked stories have been a “burden in my life for a few years now”, Coleen detailed her version of events on Twitter, saying: “To try and prove [who was behind the stories being leaked to the press], I came up with an idea. I blocked everyone from viewing my Instagram stories except ONE account (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. And you know what, they did!”
Referring specifically to stories that she was considering “gender selection”, plotting a TV comeback and a flooded basement in her home, Coleen said: “Now I know for certain which account/individual it’s come from. I have saved and screenshotted all of the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
Rebekah quickly responded to Coleen’s claims with her own statement on Twitter, denying she is behind the leaks.
Claiming that “various people” have access to her Instagram account, Rebekah said she was “so upset” by the allegations, especially as she is “heavily pregnant”.
She wrote: “As I 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 over the years can vouch for. If you thought this was happening you could have told me and I could have changed my passwords to see if it stopped.
“Over the years various people have had access to my Insta and 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?”
She added: “I liked you a lot Coleen and I am so upset 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.”
HuffPost UK has also contacted Rebekah Vardy’s agent for comment.
Rebekah is best known for her marriage to England footballer Jamie Vardy, but has also made TV appearances on shows like I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here and Channel 5’s Celebrity Trolls: We’re Coming To Get You.