Rebekah Vardy denies claims she was a ‘bully’ as she reveals private messages from former ITV I’m A Celebrity star
Rebekah Vardy has rubbished claims she was a “bully” during her time on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here as she leaked private texts to prove her innocence.
Comedian Iain Lee, 51, claimed Vardy, 42, made his experience on the 2017 series of the popular ITV show “f***ing miserable”.
Lee admitted he found his time Down Under particularly difficult because of Vardy’s behaviour.
“I made it known that she [Vardy] made me f**king miserable and isolated when I was in the jungle and was a bully, liar and manipulator,” Lee explained.
He continued: “She bullied me and led a clique that picked on me. There were two occasions when I wanted to get out, it was so toxic and dark in there.
“When I came out of the show I was not all right. It sent me into a spiral of depression and anxiety. It really upset me,” the 51-year-old admitted to MailOnline.
Taking to Instagram, Vardy vehemently denied Lee’s claims.
“Wish this man would just leave me alone. There is only one bully here and it’s not me,” she fumed.
Posted with her comments were a series of screenshots showing private conversations between her and Lee in which they appeared to make-up.
In the messages, Vardy said she “had no bad feeling towards” Lee and expressed her regret at how their relationship was portrayed on I’m A Celebrity.
“You’ve been through an incredible deal in life. I truly hope you manage to sort things out with your wife and see your boys,” she added.
In Lee’s response, he writes he did not consider her behaviour “bullying” and that he had “no bad feelings” towards Vardy.
The pair engaged in an almost identical spat in 2022, with Lee eventually backing down after Vardy threatened to leak the now released private messages.
However, Lee was forced to reevaluate his time on the show after Vardy took swipes at the current I’m A Celeb series.
After making a cheeky joke at her expense, Vardy branded hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly “two small-minded men”.
Vardy saved most of her ire for Coleen Rooney, fellow WAG and the other half of the “Wagatha Christie” feud.
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Rooney, who is one of the favourites to be named Queen of the Jungle this year, was unsuccessfully sued for libel by Vardy after the former accused the latter of leaking her private details to the press.
Vardy, who was hired as a columnist for The Sun when Rooney headed Down Under, has relished in her rivals misfortunes on the show.
When Rooney’s canoe capsized in the new series’ debut episode, Vardy branded her “the gift that keeps on giving”.
The 42-year-old hopes that Rooney will be forced to “eat penis or humble pie” during her stint on the show.