Coleen and Wayne Rooney miss last day of 'Wagatha Christie' trial to go on holiday

The WAGs have been embroiled in a libel battle over the past week in relation to a viral social media post posted by Mrs Rooney in October 2019 in which she said she had carried out a “sting operation” and accused Mrs Vardy of leaking “false stories” about her private life to the press.

The wife of former England star Wayne Rooney was dubbed “Wagatha Christie” when she publicly claimed Mrs Vardy’s account was the source behind three fake stories she had posted on her private Instagram account.

Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, denies leaking stories to the media and is suing her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Mrs Rooney is defending the claim on the basis her post was “substantially true.”

The trial was expected to finish on Wednesday but was extended until Thursday to allow barristers to prepare their closing speeches.

Neither Mrs Rooney nor her husband attended court for the final arguments, with lawyer David Sherborne apologising for their absence and explaining they had a “long-standing travel arrangement” with their children Kai, Cass, Klay and Kit, which was booked when it was thought the trial would finish on Wednesday.

The family were reportedly given permission from the judge to be absent.

A source told MailOnline: “It’s been a long and gruelling process for both Wayne and Coleen and they didn’t want to disappoint their children.”

According to the publication the Rooneys chose Dubai as their blissful holiday destination, and were photographed lugging suitcases through Manchester Airport this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Mrs Vardy arrived to court alone this morning, wearing a bright green top under a black suit, and left about 30 minutes after the hearing began before returning shortly before the lunch break.

Making his closing arguments on the final day of the trial, Hugh Tomlinson QC, for Mrs Vardy, said she has suffered “very serious harm to her reputation” as a result of Mrs Rooney’s post.

He also said that Mrs Rooney has “failed to produce any evidence” that Mrs Vardy had “regularly and frequently abused her status as a trusted follower” of her private Instagram account by passing on information from it to The Sun newspaper.

The fake stories Mrs Rooney planted on her Instagram during the sting operation featured her travelling to Mexico for a “gender selection” procedure, her planning to return to TV and the basement flooding at her home.

In a now infamous post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, she wrote: “I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them.

“It’s……….. Rebekah Vardy’s account.”

Mrs Justice Steyn will reserve her ruling until a later date.