Coleen and Wayne Rooney's relationship timeline as Wagatha ...

Coleen Rooney became the most talked about contestant of I'm A Celebrity 2024 before even entering the jungle as viewers anticipated campfire chats spilling all the details on her life with Wayne Rooney and Wagatha Christie scandal.

The mother-of-four has been married to former footballer Wayne for 16 years, and in a relationship with him since she was at secondary school, so she's been through every career high and low with him.

But the Rooneys' marriage has also weathered more controversy than most, with cheating, drink-driving and a globally high-profile social media sting all hitting headlines.

Here are the key moments from Coleen's relationship with Wayne.

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Wayne Rooney started dating Coleen McLoughlin before his career took off. (PA Images)

Coleen McLoughlin and Wayne Rooney first met in Croxteth, Liverpool at just 12 years old when they became part of the same friendship group - but while they have been in each other's lives since 1998, they didn't start dating until they were 16.

Wayne had been playing for Everton's youth team since he was nine, but drew national attention aged 16 in 2002 when he made his professional debut for the team. Attention quickly turned to girlfriend Coleen, still at school, who was dating the country's most exciting new football talent.

The couple got engaged in 2003 when Wayne was 18 and Coleen was 17, with her mum explaining in a documentary years later that Wayne was supposed to propose at a restaurant, but actually ended up popping the question with a £46,000 diamond ring in a petrol station on the way there.

Colette McLoughlin said: "They never went out for the meal. They came home and had corned beef hash."

In 2004, Wayne signed for Manchester United where he would spend the most successful years of his footballing career, but was brought crashing back down to earth when it was revealed that he had visited a brothel in 2002 and paid for sex with three sex workers aged 21, 37 and 48.

He said in a statement: "Foolish as it now seems I did on occasions visit massage parlours and prostitutes. I now regret it deeply and hope people may understand that it was the sort of mistake you make when you are young and stupid. It was at a time when I was very young and immature."

Although Coleen did not comment at the time, she later wrote in her autobiography: "The truth is, and I’ve never said this before, at that time in our relationship I’d never even slept with Wayne. I was only 16 and we weren’t having that kind of relationship at that stage."

The Rooneys are proud parents to four sons. (Getty Images)

Coleen cemented her status as one of the England team's chief wags during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where she was photographed sharing chats and jokes with Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole.

The couple married in 2008 at a lavish ceremony in Portofino, Italy, that reportedly cost £5m with photos sold to OK! for £2.5m. Coleen wore a Marchesa dress for the ceremony and got through four different wedding dresses throughout the day, while their favourite bands Westlife and Stereophonics were booked for the reception.

A year later, they welcomed the first of their four sons, Kai, followed by Klay in 2013, Kit in 2016 and Cass in 2018.

The Rooneys' wedded bliss did not last long as two years after they were married and a year after the birth of their first child, they were hit by a cheating scandal.

In 2010, The Sunday Mirror reported that Wayne had been seeing sex worker Jennifer Thompson during Coleen's pregnancy, right up until a month before she gave birth.

Wayne was also alleged to have brought in a second sex worker, Helen Wood, for a threesome with Thompson. Wood went on to win Big Brother in 2014.

The couple in Portofino ahead of their 2008 wedding. (Getty Images)

Although Wayne didn't comment on the reports at the time, he was dogged by further claims in 2017 after leaving Manchester United. The footballer was arrested for drink-driving in a car belonging to a woman in her 20s who he had met on a night out at a club while Coleen was pregnant with their youngest child.

Months later, Coleen posted on Facebook about her decision to stick by him: "A few people are probably thinking am stupid for staying in my marriage. I am not stupid, I know my own mind and it’s something I want to try and work on. I know I would be fine on my own, with just me and my children, but I don’t want to live like that, I want to try and continue our marriage and live as a family, because that’s what I want to do."

While the peak of Wayne's England footballing career was winding down, there was a new opportunity on the horizon in the US, where he was offered a deal in 2018 with Washington club DC United.

The family relocated to America, but Wayne was arrested at Virginia airport for public intoxication and swearing. At a later date he was pictured partying with a female bartender after the Super Bowl, and the final straw came after photos of him surfaced in a hotel lobby and following a woman into a lift.

Wayne Rooney's time in the US came with some difficult moments. (AFP via Getty Images)

Coleen, who was back in the UK visiting her parents at the time, reportedly took her wedding ring off and told him to move back home.

However, the cheating claims continued back in England - Wayne, who by 2021 was at Derby County as player and coach, was photographed asleep in a Manchester hotel room surrounded by a social media star and her friends.

Wayne denied any wrongdoing, saying he had simply fallen asleep after a party, but publicly apologised to Coleen.

Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy at the Wagatha Christie trial. (Getty)

Of the pair, Coleen is usually the one to try to stay out of the limelight, but that changed in 2019 when she set about trying to track down which of her social media private contacts had been selling stories about her and posted the results online.

Coleen had worked out that fellow wag Rebekah Vardy's account was responsible after posting a series of fake updates to her private account, and seeing the information including claims that she was going for gender selection IVF to a Mexico clinic appear in The Sun.

Explaining her investigation in a lengthy tweet, Coleen said that only one follower had been able to view the fake stories and ended her viral post with the infamous words: "It's..........Rebekah Vardy's account."

The drama was dubbed Wagatha Christie and saw Vardy take her to court for libel, with Coleen winning the case. Wayne accompanied his wife to some of her court appearances, giving fans a fascinating insight into their lives.

Wayne Rooney supported his wife at the trial. (PA Images)

Under questioning about a private Instagram post from 2017 which has shown her and Wayne together while they were trying to work out their differences after one of his cheating scandals, Coleen spoke about it being leaked to the press.

She said: "I didn't know how my marriage was going to work out. I didn't know what was going on in that relationship so we agreed to work things out. I had not settled on this. Is it that we are getting back together?

"At this time there was speculation I was back at the house as I was spending a lot of time at my parents' house. That was information I was happy to share with my private group and we were trying to sort out the relationship and see where things were going.

"But I didn't want the public to know that. I didn't want them to know, ‘this is it we are getting back together’. I know how quick the press are to jump on things."

Coleen Rooney's post about Rebekah Vardy went viral. (PA Images)

As well as winning the libel case, Coleen was also awarded costs to be paid by Vardy and both have since given their version of events in TV interviews and documentaries.

Coleen's Disney+ documentary was released in 2023, when she said of her relationship with Wayne: "We’ve had our ups and downs. Obviously everybody knows. It’s been hard to go through it in the public eye but there has always been love there. If the love is gone then, you know, it’s pointless. But if not, you’ve got something to work for."

Meanwhile, Wayne also released a 2022 Prime Video documentary about his life and career, where Coleen said of the various scandals attached to her husband: "It’s not acceptable what he’s done, but it’s happened and that was in the stage of life we were in at the time but we’ve moved on. I forgive him but it wasn’t acceptable. If it comes up, we’d talk about it like we’re talking about it now. I haven’t got the anger I did at the time."

Coleen Rooney joined the cast for I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! 2024. (ITV)

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! viewers are hoping to hear more about the Rooneys - as well as, of course, Wagatha Christie - during Coleen's stint in the jungle for the 2024 series of the ITV reality show.

Ahead of her appearance, Coleen told the MailOnline that she and Wayne were already spending a lot of time apart because of his job as manager of Plymouth Argyle. He spends most of his time in Devon, while she and their sons live in Cheshire.

She said they would typically see each other once or twice a week, adding: "Time together is limited, more so than ever now because of the travelling and stuff."

As Coleen was confirmed for the cast, she said that Wayne was "fine with it" and revealed she had been asked to take part lots of times before: "Over the years, there have been different things going on in my life and also, my children have been really young. But they are at an age now where I can go away for this length of time. I also feel it’s time to have a challenge for me and do something different. It has taken many, many years but I’m finally doing it."

Meanwhile, Wayne posted a supportive message from himself and their children on social media that read: "Good luck to our mum who’s in the jungle for I'm A Celeb. We’re missing you already but can’t wait to watch (you do some trials) and for people to see what you’re all about. The best. We love you, Coleen."

Coleen mentioned Wayne to her campmates a few times during the early days in camp, telling how he had got a tattoo of her name for her birthday not long after they started dating. She also received a pillow with a photo of herself, Wayne and their sons printed on it as her luxury item from home.