Coleen Rooney has opened up about the emotional chat she had with her husband Wayne Rooney upon leaving the I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! jungle.
The TV personality, 38, came in second place on the ITV reality show final on Sunday night (8 December), losing out on the winner’s title to McFly singer, Danny Jones.
Rooney, who previously revealed she struggles to spend time with Wayne due to his hectic work schedule, was not greeted by her husband on the I’m a Celeb bridge.
The former Manchester United player, who is now managing Plymouth Argyle, remained back home in the UK due to commitments with the Championship club but congratulated his wife on the phone.
“I spoke to him as soon as I got in the car,” Rooney told The Sun. “Obviously my mum, dad and the two younger kids were there, then Wayne and my two older ones at home.”
The TV personality explained her younger sons were able to miss school to travel to Australia. However, her older children remained in the UK because “it’s more serious” for them to be ascent from class.
“As soon as I came out I phoned home,” she continued. “Wayne just said how proud he was. In the letter I got, he said he’s never missed me as much – and I can understand that because we’ve not spoke.”
Rooney clarified that although they often spend weeks apart due to Wayne’s career commitment they usually call each other on the phone multiple times a day.
“To not have that communication, it’s been tough,” she added.
“Obviously if anything drastic happens I would like to think they would have told me. But not keeping up to date on the kids’ school and football… I’m so involved in all that back home. That was hard.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Rooney admitted she considered quitting I’m a Celeb in the first week because she missed her children so badly.
As her luxury item, the TV personality took a cushion with a picture of her four children and Wayne on the front into the jungle, which reduced her to tears in scenes that weren’t broadcast.
“But then I soon snapped out of it and went and done the washing up, and collected the wood and did whatever I had to do and it was fine. I got on with it,” she recalled.
“I’m quite strong-minded. Even though I’m quiet, I battle through things.”
During her time in the Australian jungle, Rooney was praised for her calm demeanour. She even kept her cool in a trial last week when medics were called after a cockroach became trapped in her ear.
Rooney was reported to have secured the biggest deal in the show’s history, which would surpass that of Nigel Farage and presenter Noel Edmonds with a fee of over £1.5m.
Ahead of her arrival in the jungle, she said she didn’t have any phobias and was really to take on any challenge – claims she proved to be true.
“Whatever I do in life, I like to put my all into it and so if I am going in there, it would be nice to stay until the end,” she told reporters ahead of coming in second place.
Upon losing out on the jungle crown to Jones, she told I’m a Celeb hosts Ant and Dec: “I didn’t expect to get this far! Danny truly deserves it, I was happy to share the camp with everyone.”