I'm A Celeb favourite Coleen Rooney just wants Rebekah Vardy to 'shut up and leave her alone'

This series of I’m A Celebrity… has already proved one of the most explosive yet - the opening episode alone including stomach-churning cocktails, cockroaches, skydiving, dinner a la kangaroo anus, former boxing champ Barry McGuigan being totally unable to complete a task and Danny Jones getting a ‘trouser snake’. The pace, to be honest, hasn’t really let up since.

And for anyone who has been following the fast-moving action Down Under, and one specific WAG’s reactions to it, there seems to have been a distinct thawing in the famously frosty relations between Rebekah Vardy and her supposed arch nemesis, Coleen Rooney.

Initially rather caustic about the 38-year-old’s jungle experience in her daily no-holds-barred newspaper diary about the show, Rebekah, who has clashed in court with the fellow footballer’s wife more than once over their notorious Wagatha Christie scandal, seems to be rethinking her take on things.

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But it seems the feeling may not be mutual. And when the reality show draws to a close, Coleen, who has proved extremely popular and tipped by many to leave as Queen of the Jungle, returns home from Australia, her reported resolve to have nothing to do with Rebekah could be stronger than ever.

“In Coleen’s mind, her war with Becky is over and all she wants is for Becky to pay her bill and then she will never have to think about her again," a source claimed. "But Becky can’t let it go - and Coleen will find it hilarious, and somewhat tragic, about Becky’s constant mentioning of her.”

Jamie Vardy’s wife, 42, initially took aim at Coleen at the start of the series, kicking off by gleefully taking aim at Coleen when she sank in the river during the opening task - writing: “Coleen sank in the river twice. It's the gift that keeps on giving.”

The mum-of-six also started as she meant to go on when it came to her own social media. As Coleen entered camp, Rebekah posted a snap of herself relaxing in a pink bikini with her eyes closed, captioning it: "The feeling when you are living rent free in people's heads." alongside a laugh-crying and a winking emoji. She also accused Coleen – who reportedly is being paid a record £1.5m for her appearance – of “following in her footsteps” because she had “always wanted [Vardy’s] life.”

But more recently, having previously called Coleen ‘dull’ and sharing her hopes that the campmate would be forced to 'eat penis or humble pie', she appeared to heap praise on the Liverpudlian mum-of-three, after she smashed an epic Bushtucker Trial. Coleen was widely praised and called a ‘warrior’ by viewers for keeping her cool during a grim Absolute Car-nage trial with Northern Irish DJ Dean McCullough, which saw her totally covered in cockroaches and rats.

Writing in her The Sun column, Rebekah penned: 'It's blowing a gale at home but there’s definitely a rumble in the jungle. Luckily it’s not in the campmates’ stomachs, as Teabag Dean had Coleen with him for Absolute Carnage and they managed to get nine stars." She added, 'I’m applauding Coleen. She really held her nerve as the mealworms, cockroaches and rats crawled all over her.'

Rebekah’s seeming U-turn shocked many, but our source added, “It seems to have backfired on Becky, as many of the comments were telling her to grow up and get over it. Coleen is proving very popular with everyone and coming across better than many thought she would. So, it’s no wonder Becky is trying to praise her now, after spending days slating her.”

"Becky is also aware of all the backlash she has been getting for slating Coleen so has decided on a change of tack. If Becky wants a long career, she knows she needs to be seen as more than the pantomime villain and a rent-a-gob. Her praising Coleen is an attempt to reach out to her and show everyone she is fair and can give praise when it’s deserved. She says she also wants to move on from it all but she can’t do that if she continues to take aim at Coleen.’

Meanwhile, Coleen seems to be getting on with things in the Australian jungle and viewers have admired her warm, resilient, no-nonsense nature. Having touched on her epic court battle with Rebekah early on, she seems happy to leave all talk of Rebekah Vardy in the past, instead delighting viewers with other insights, such as her marriage to football manager Wayne, the sometimes crazy llfe of a WAG - and a memorable meeting with President Donald Trump.

In one eye-opening campfire confessional, Coleen branded Trump a 'dirty b**tard' after he told his son when they met that she was proof that 'all the soccer players get the good looking girls'. She made the shock revelation to fellow contestants as she spoke about her time living in Washington DC in 2018, when Wayne was head coach at DC United.

And our source claims that Coleen’s stance on Rebekah following her seeming olive branch will not have changed one iota during her jungle stint, and she wants to draw a line under it, once and for all. “Coleen just wants Becky to shut up, leave her alone and get on with her life. She has no intention of ever talking about all that drama again – that’s why she did the book and documentary, so that her story is out there.”

They added, "She has said to friends, 'I won't forgive Becky' and can't just forget everything she's put her through. ‘She’ll never get over how Becky has behaved and continues to behave.'"

Moreover, the source maintains that taking part in the hit ITV show - the first time the public have really seen Coleen and what she’s all about in this light - will be the making of her, and she is excited for what’s next.

“She can’t wait to see what happens after. Her main aim was to make her boys proud and she will definitely feel that she has. Because Coleen is such a kind person, she’ll probably end up feeling sorry for Becky because she looks quite sad and nasty in all of her videos - it’s not going to do her any favours. Whereas, Coleen will be the winner once again, regardless of whether she is crowned Queen of the Jungle or not.”

Meanwhile, a separate source close to Rebekah told OK!, “Becky is reviewing what she sees on IAC, that’s all. She is doing a job to give an opinion/insight into the jungle, I wouldn’t read anything more into than this.”

Coleen’s highly-anticipate jungle stint comes after the 2022 Wagatha Christie in which Coleen accused Rebekah of leaking stories about her, allegations which Rebekah has strongly denied - however, in July 2022, a judge at the High Court found the post was "substantially true". A judge last month ruled that Rebekah would be handed an extra £100,000 cost on top of the £1.8 million she’s already been told to pay Coleen.