Coleen Rooney gave a rare insight into her 16-year marriage with husband Wayne, admitting he has ‘made mistakes’ on Thursday’s I’m A Celebrity.
The WAG, 38, spoke about going against the public, who had urged her to divorce the footballer, 39, after his infidelities’ emerged.
Coleen confided in campmate Oti Mabuse why she and Wayne have remained together and said while ‘it has been difficult, we’re happy now, after all those years… we’re a team.’
The conversation turned to their turbulent marriage when talking about Wayne’s footballing career.
Coleen said: ‘All he wanted to do was play football, he struggled with the fame side of it, he hated that. If he could’ve just played football and had none of the fame I think he would’ve been happier within life.’
‘He’s made mistakes along the way, but from 16, obviously you’re going to, that’s life.’
Explaining they got married young at 22, and engaged at 17/18, Coleen admitted because of that, ‘We felt older, because we had to grow up quick, because we were living in the public eye.’
Coleen Rooney gave a rare insight into her 16-year marriage with husband Wayne, admitting he has ‘made mistakes’ on Thursday’s I’m A Celebrity
The WAG, 38, spoke about going against the public, who had urged her to divorce the footballer after his infidelities’ emerged
‘Since the first mistake he’s made, that’s been in the public, people have not forgiven. When things have happened the public have wanted it to just go oh, split, you know, that’s it, split them up. But the fact is, there’s always been love still there.’
Coleen and Wayne tied the knot in a romantic ceremony in Italy in 2008, with the big day said to have cost an estimated £5m.
Before they married in a stunning ceremony in the village of Portofino on the Italian Riviera in 2008, Wayne admitted sleeping with prostitutes after being caught on CCTV at a backstreet Liverpool brothel.
One was a 48-year-old grandmother known as ‘Auld Slapper’ who wore a rubber catsuit.
Then came his threesome with two more, Helen Wood and Jenny Thompson, at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester in 2010.
In 2017, Wayne was caught driving Cheshire-based estate agent Laura Simpson’s car while over the drink-drive limit. But Coleen has stood by him through all of it.
‘It has been difficult, but we’re happy now, after all those years… we’re a team,’ she said.
Speaking to GK Barry later on, she revealed: ‘Wayne’s always wrote me poems.’ Shocked, GK asked: ‘Wayne Rooney?’
Coleen confided in campmate Oti Mabuse why she and Wayne have remained together and said while ‘it has been difficult but we’re happy now, after all those years… we’re a team’
In 2017, Wayne was caught driving Cheshire-based estate agent Laura Simpson’s car while over the drink-drive limit. But Coleen has stood by him through all of it
The couple have been married 16 years have four sons; Kai, 15, and Klay, 11, Kit, eight and Cass, six
Speaking to GK Barry later on, she revealed: ‘Wayne’s always wrote me poems.’ Shocked, GK asked: ‘Wayne Rooney?’
Coleen said: ‘You know the hotel pads? He was always writing a little poem.’ GK joked: ‘Well you might have one coming up: Roses are red, jungle is green, you’re my love, Coleen’
Wayne and Coleen have been together since they were teenagers (pictured together in 2003)
Due to his football commitments, Wayne will not be jetting out to Australia to greet Coleen when she leaves the camp over its iconic bridge
Coleen said: ‘You know the hotel pads? He was always writing a little poem and putting it in his bag and he’d give it to me when we got home.’
‘They’re nice to keep but I can’t remember the last time he gave me one…’
GK joked: ‘Well you might have one coming up: Roses are red, jungle is green, you’re my love, Coleen.’
Reflecting in the Bush Telegraph, Coleen said: ‘He is romantic in ways, we’re not the lovey dovey couple in public but little things like that I think it keeps the relationship alive and it’s special when someone’s done something just for you, and the words mean something.’
Due to his football commitments, Wayne will not be jetting out to Australia to greet Coleen when she leaves the camp over its iconic bridge.
Instead, that duty will fall to the couple’s youngest sons, Kit, eight, and Cass, six.
And the reason her elder sons Kai, 15, and 11-year-old Klay won’t make it? They don’t want to miss football, she says.
Before going into the jungle, Coleen admitted the couple are already distanced – and ‘barely see each other’ – as he juggles his new job as Plymouth Argylle with family life.
Since Wayne started managing Championship football side Plymouth Argyle in May, Coleen said their ‘time together is limited’ and they largely only see each other on Sundays.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday after flying to Australia last week, Coleen described the toll the 260-mile distance between them is taking, with Wayne living most of the week in Salcombe, Devon – a five-hour drive from the family’s mansion in Cheshire.
But she said that just before leaving for her stint in the jungle, they managed to enjoy a ‘nice family day’ last weekend, having dinner together and attending their 11-year-old son Klay’s football tournament.
‘Wayne comes back once a week, sometimes twice, depending on the fixtures,’ Coleen explained.
‘Usually, he has Sunday off so he might come home. What’s good about the championship is that a lot of games are closer to me, closer to home, up in the North.
‘So he’ll come home on a Saturday evening and spend Sunday with us, depending on what the boys have got on.
‘Time together is limited, more so than ever now because of the travelling and stuff.’
To find out more tune into I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Monday at 9pm on ITV1, STV and ITVX
I’M A CELEBRITY 2024: MEET THE ALL STAR LINE UP
OTI MABUSE
Oti Mabuse has already two Strictly glitterballs under her belt
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Professional dancer
FAMOUS FOR: Oti is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2019 and 2020.
DANNY JONES
Danny Jones is one of the bookies’ favourites to win this year’s I’m A Celeb
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: McFly singer
FAMOUS FOR: Danny is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly.
He is also a coach on The Voice UK.
BARRY MCGUIGAN
Former boxer Barry McGuigan is heading into the jungle
AGE: 63
OCCUPATION: Retired professional boxer
FAMOUS FOR: Barry was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 to 1986.
GK BARRY
GK Barry is a TikTok star who recently joined the ITV family on Loose Women
AGE: 25
OCCUPATION: TikTok star
FAMOUS FOR: Grace is known for her comedic commentary on culture, lifestyle, and fashion. She has over 3.6 million followers and recently joined the Loose Women panel.
DEAN MCCULLOUGH
ITV bosses are hoping Dean McCullough will ruffle feathers in the camp
AGE: 32
OCCUPATION: Radio 1 DJ
FAMOUS FOR: Radio 1 DJ Dean has been signed by I’m A Celeb bosses, in the hope that he will ruffle feathers with his outspoken views.
Earlier this year it was announced Dean would be taking over the BBC Radio 1 Early Breakfast Show, after previously fronting the afternoon slot.
JANE MOORE
Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Journalist
FAMOUS FOR: Jane is best known as a panellist and anchor of Loose Women between 1999 and 2002.
She returned as a regular panellist from 2013 onwards.
Jane takes on the challenge following her high-profile split from husband of 20 years, Showbiz agent, Gary Farrow.
MELVIN ODOOM
Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021
AGE: 44
OCCUPATION: DJ and TV presenter
FAMOUS FOR: His work on radio. Melvin was previously courted by I’m A Celeb bosses back in 2021, but turned down the offer at the last minute.
He also had a primetime stint on Strictly back in 2016.
COLEEN ROONEY
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: WAG
FAMOUS FOR: Wagatha Christie case against arch rival Rebekah Vardy.
Reports claim that she has been offered the biggest deal in the show’s history, exceeding Nigel Farage’s £1.5million from last year.
ALAN HALSALL
Alan Halsall is best known for his role as Tyrone Dobbs on Coronation Street
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Actor
FAMOUS FOR: Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall was forced to withdraw from I’m A Celeb last year, after undergoing ACL Reconstruction surgery.
Bosses have now convinced the actor to sign up again, and no doubt he will draw in a huge fanbase thanks to his long-running role as Tyrone Dobbs on the soap.
TULISA
Tulisa is making her career comeback after reuniting with N-Dubz last year
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: Singer and former X Factor judge
FAMOUS FOR: Tulisa reunited with N-Dubz last year for a tour after first finding fame with the band in 2007.
In 2011, she became a judge on The X Factor and went on to launch her debut solo album, The Female Boss.
She released her fourth album with N-Dubz last year.
REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Richard is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England priest
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Writer, broadcaster and priest
FAMOUS FOR: Richard is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England priest.
He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalist who partnered Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band the Communards.
MAURA HIGGINS
Maura is best known for her stint on Love Island UK in 2019
AGE: 33
OCCUPATION: TV Personality
FAMOUS FOR: Maura is an Irish television personality, television presenter and model.
She rose to prominence in 2019, when she was a finalist on the fifth series of ITV2 reality series Love Island.