When Coleen met Wayne Rooney

Manchester United and England football legend Wayne and newspaper columnist, TV personality and businesswoman Coleen have remained under intense paparazzi scrutiny since their wedding in 2008.

Despite the pressure, they’re still going strong and have four sons, with the family currently living in a £20 million Cheshire mansion with its own cinema, football pitch, swimming pool and wine cellar.

Wayne has recently made his debut as a football pundit on Amazon Prime and Coleen is continuing her success with health supplements company Applied Nutrition, including her own branded range of wellness products.

How did their relationship begin?

Back in the 1990s, they were part of the same group of childhood friends who would hang out together in their hometown of Croxteth, Liverpool. At the time of their first meeting, they were only 12, but they didn’t start dating until some years later.

Born in April 1986, Coleen McLoughlin was a model student at St John Bosco Arts College in Croxteth, leaving school with 10 GCSEs. Coincidentally, Wayne’s mother Jeanette worked there as a dinner lady.

Wayne was born in October 1985 and attended De La Salle School in Croxteth. He was always interested in football and supported Everton as a boy. His dreams came true when he joined the club at the age of nine. He scored 114 goals in 29 matches for Everton Under-10s and Under-11s. At age 15, he joined the Under-19s and evolved into an amazing footballing talent as an adult.

They started dating after leaving school and while Wayne’s football career continued to thrive, Coleen was an aspiring writer who worked for the celebrity magazine, Closer, where she had her own column, Welcome to my World.

Wayne Rooney England debut

Wayne’s senior international career began on 12th February 2003, when he became the youngest footballer in history to play for England, aged 17 years and 111 days, in a friendly against Australia under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Although England lost, it provided valuable experience for the teenager, who saw his first tournament action at the UEFA Euro 2004 championship.

He became the youngest goal scorer in competitive football history, netting two against Switzerland in England’s 3-0 victory on 17th June 2004. He went on to score 53 goals and earned 120 international caps for England over 13 years.

Proposal and wedding

Wayne and Coleen got engaged in 2003. In a documentary, Coleen’s mother, Colette, revealed he had planned to pop the question during a romantic meal at a restaurant. However, instead, he proposed on the way there at a petrol station, where he presented his fiancée with a £46,000 diamond ring. Coleen said yes and her mum added they didn’t bother going to the restaurant – they went home and enjoyed corned beef hash!

During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Coleen was one of the England team’s most prominent WAGs and was photographed many times by the press, including in conversation with David Beckham’s wife Victoria.

Wayne and Coleen married at a lavish ceremony that reportedly cost £5 million in Portofino, Italy, in 2008. The couple had booked superstar pop bands Stereophonics and Westlife to play at the reception.

While Wayne went on to rise in football, playing at club level for Manchester United and continuing to play for the England team, Coleen also enjoyed a successful career, becoming a columnist for OK Magazine and collaborating with news reporter Sir Trevor McDonald on his show, Tonight with Trevor McDonald, to raise awareness of the genetic condition, Rett syndrome. Tragically, Coleen’s younger sister Rosie passed away at the age of only 14 as a result of Rett syndrome in January 2013.

When did Wayne Rooney retire?

Wayne’s playing career started winding down in 2020 and he announced he was looking to become a football coach. His first appointment was the challenging task of saving Derby County from relegation when the club was bottom of the Championship table in November 2020. He became one of a four-man interim coaching team.

For Wayne Rooney, retirement from playing wasn’t an option initially and he was player/coach, but after Derby continued to lose, he became the sole manager. In January 2021, he announced his retirement from playing professional football after a highly respected career on the pitch. He managed to get Derby out of the relegation zone and was appointed permanent manager. At the end of the season, a 3-3 draw at home against Sheffield Wednesday saw Derby avoid the drop.

In July 2022, Wayne took over as head coach at one of his own former clubs, Major League Soccer side DC United in the USA. He was also employed as manager of English Championship clubs Birmingham City in 2023 and Plymouth Argyle in 2024. Despite being popular with players, fans and the media, results on the pitch led to a parting of the ways in December 2024.

Reports in February 2025 suggested he was considering his options, being undecided whether to return to football management, or become a commentator full-time.

Coleen Rooney Wagatha Christie

Coleen has also been in the public eye continually in recent years, most notably in the court case dubbed “Wagatha Christie” in 2022. The controversy began in 2019, after she realised one of her private social media contacts was secretly selling stories to the press. Trying to find out who, the press created the Wagatha tag, using a wordplay on WAG and crime writer Agatha Christie.

In an effort to weed out the culprit, Coleen revealed she had posted a series of fake social media updates, including a claim she was going for IVF treatment at a clinic in Mexico. After the story appeared in The Sun newspaper, Coleen announced on Twitter that only one follower had been able to view the fake news -“It’s Rebekah Vardy’s account,” subsequently went viral.

Rebekah, wife of Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy, denied the accusation and implied her account had been hacked, taking Coleen to court for libel. The long running trial gripped the media as Coleen spoke of how her suspicions began when a private Instagram photo of her and Wayne was leaked to the press. Eventually, Coleen won the libel case and was awarded costs.

In 2024, Coleen appeared on the reality TV show, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, when she spent 23 days in the jungle, winning the nation’s hearts for her natural demeanour and ability to keep calm under pressure. She was runner-up to McFly singer Danny Jones.

Today, the Rooneys’ son Kai, 15, is already following in his father’s footsteps after joining Manchester United’s youth academy in 2020 and enjoying success on the pitch.