Soccer
Coleen Rooney Accuses Rebekah Vardy of Leaking Her Instagram Posts To the Press
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterUpdated09 Oct 2019
Life as a celebrity might seem great, but there are definitely drawbacks to stardom. One major complaint is a lack of privacy. No matter how much you may try to remain behind closed doors, the paparazzi are already waiting for the moment you step outside. But things get even more complicated when someone inside your inner circle is leaking stories to the press, as Coleen Rooney found out first hand.
On Wednesday, Rooney revealed that she discovered the identity of the mole. Bizarrely, she claimed it was Rebekah Vardy, the wife of another English soccer player.
Who is Coleen Rooney?
Coleen Rooney (née McLoughlin), grew up outside of Liverpool in the suburb of Croxteth. At age 12, she met a young Wayne Rooney; the two started dating four years later and got married in 2008.
As Wayne's career developed at Manchester United, Coleen also found her niche. She appeared on Tonight with Trevor McDonald and later starred in her own TV series, Coleen's Real Women, searching for “real women” to serve as models in advertising campaigns.
Rooney has also had a writing career, starting with a column for Closer. She moved to OK! in 2008 and has also written an autobiography.
Is Rebekah Vardy the leaker?
As a celebrity in her own right and the wife of an English soccer star, Rooney has had her issues with the tabloids publishing private information. She determined that someone in her inner circle had to be leaking her private Instagram posts to the press, so she came up with an elaborate sting operation.
Several months ago, Rooney blocked her all of her followers, except for one suspect, from viewing her Instagram stories. She then planted a series of fake posts on her channel, knowing that only one person could see them. Sure enough, those fabricated stories appeared in the Sun, a notorious British tabloid.
On Wednesday, Rooney revealed her findings to the world. The leaker, she determined, was none other than Rebekah Vardy, the wife of Leicester City striker, Jamie Vardy.
Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy's Relationship
During the 2016 Euro Cup, Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy were both members of the England squad. While the two men were teammates, rumors surfaced that they didn't see eye to eye.
The Times reported that Rooney told Vardy to ensure his wife's social media posts didn't become a distraction during the tournament. England manager Roy Hodgeson, however, denied any tensions. “There are absolutely no problems in football terms between Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy,” he said. “In fact quite the reverse, they are very close friends, both on the field and off the field.”
Rebekah Vardy Responds
Shortly after Rooney made her public accusations, Rebekah Vardy responded via Instagram. After expressing shock and disappointment that she had to deal with the situation while pregnant and on vacation, she denied leaking any stories to the press.
Vardy explained that over the past several years, various people have had access to her Instagram account. While she has since changed her password, it's possible that one of those people was the leaker.
