Now that the high-profile legal saga between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney — dubbed Wagatha Christie — has finally drawn to a close, the spectacle leaves behind not only a pop culture legacy but also a rich case study in reputation management, defamation law, and the risks of high-stakes litigation.

For public relations professionals, it provides critical legal and strategic lessons for managing crisis communications in the digital age.

Perhaps, the most striking lesson is the immense risk of litigation in a defamation case. Rebekah Vardy brought the case against Coleen Rooney after the infamous sting operation post went viral in 2019, accusing Vardy of leaking stories to the press.

Yet, the resulting trial not only failed to clear Vardy’s name but also caused enormous reputational damage.

We must recognise that legal action, especially in the public eye, often leads to the amplification of negative narratives. The courtroom becomes a stage, and legal arguments are reframed by media headlines. In this case, Vardy’s reputation arguably suffered more from the litigation than from the original accusation.

The lesson: legal action, whilst sometimes necessary, should be a last resort, not a first response.

Coleen Rooney’s original social media post was a masterclass in digital storytelling. It was methodical, dramatic, and offered clear evidence of how she narrowed down the source of leaks to Vardy’s account. We saw how effective a well-crafted narrative could be when directly communicated to the public.

However, truth is a crucial defence in defamation law. Rooney’s team took a calculated risk by posting publicly, but it was supported by digital evidence. If her claims had been inaccurate, she could have faced serious legal and financial repercussions.

For PR professionals, this underscores the importance of verifying facts before making public statements, especially when reputations are on the line.

The court’s examination of messages, deleted data, and digital footprints highlighted another crucial point: documentation matters. Vardy’s credibility was damaged not just by allegations but by the inability to account for missing evidence including conveniently lost phones and WhatsApp messages. The judge ultimately ruled that evidence had been deliberately destroyed.

In a PR crisis, internal communication emails, texts, call logs can become critical, especially if legal scrutiny follows. That is why we should advise clients to preserve records and think carefully about what is committed to writing. When litigation looms, transparency and documentation are more than just good practice; they can shape the outcome.

Even if Vardy had won the case, the legal victory might not have restored her public image. Litigation rarely offers a clean slate in the court of public opinion. The media attention, the revelations, and the memes have already done their damage.

For brands and businesses, the Wagatha Christie saga is a cautionary tale about the complex interplay between legal action, media dynamics, and public perception. It highlights the importance of weighing reputational risk alongside legal strategy, and understanding that in the age of social media, narrative control can be as valuable as legal control.

Just as individuals can suffer lasting image damage despite courtroom victories, brands must recognise that public trust is fragile and tough to rebuild once broken.

The real lesson is this: crisis communications cannot be left to legal teams alone. Integrated strategies, combining legal counsel with skilled communication professionals, is essential to navigating controversy without escalating it.