Coleen Rooney has revealed husband Wayne ‘fought to get her’ as she opened up about their marriage in the first episode of I’m A Celebrity on Sunday.
As Coleen, 38, settled in with her campmates, she didn’t shy away from speaking about their love life.
Her 16-year marriage to Wayne – whom she met when they were both 12 while growing up in Liverpool – has not been without its public scandals.
The WAG, who married the football legend in 2008, revealed ‘it wasn’t love at first sight’ when she first met Wayne.
Sitting around the campfire, Coleen chatted to her fellow campmates GK Barry, Oti Mabuse and Jane Moore.
Oti asked: ‘And it was love at first sight?’
Coleen Rooney, 38, has revealed husband Wayne ‘fought to get her’ as she opened up about their marriage in the first episode of I’m A Celebrity on Sunday
Her 16-year marriage to Wayne – whom she met when they were both 12 while growing up in Liverpool – has not been without its public scandals
Coleen replied: ‘No it was for him, not for me. He fought to get me, yeah.
‘I waited until I’d done my GCSEs and then I went on a date. I was pretty good at school.’
Opening up further about their first date at the cinema, she admitted: ‘We had a kiss around the church first.’
Before they tied the knot 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.
Most recently, in 2017, he 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.
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.
Sitting around the campfire, Coleen chatted to her fellow campmates GK Barry, Oti Mabuse and Jane Moore
As Coleen settled in with her campmates, she didn’t shy away from speaking about their love life
The WAG, who married the football legend in 2008, revealed ‘it wasn’t love at first sight’ when she first met Wayne
Wayne and Coleen pictured together in 2003
The couple pictured in 2008
Oti asked: ‘And it was love at first sight?’
Coleen replied: ‘No it was for him, not for me. He fought to get me, yeah. I waited until I’d done my GCSEs and then I went on a date. I was pretty good at school’
Instead, that duty will fall to the couple’s youngest sons, Kit, 8, and young Cass.
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.
‘They all had the option, but the two older ones decided that they would stay at home to continue with school and football,’ Coleen explains.
‘I think I said, ‘When you come you’ll have to bring your work with you,’ and they would be missing some football tournaments, so they quickly changed their minds.
‘Obviously I would have liked them all to come out but it makes sense in a way, and they both chose a wise decision not to miss out on anything back home.
‘As soon as the show’s over, I’m back straight away.
‘So, it’s one of those things. I think it was missing the football that really did it for them, they didn’t want to miss any tournaments.’
Before going into the jungle, Coleen admitted the couple are already distanced – and ‘barely see each other’ – as he juggles his new job with family life.
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, 8, and young Cass. And the reason her elder sons Kai, 15, and 11-year-old Klay won’t make it? They don’t want to miss football
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.
