Wayne Rooney has said he and wife Coleen are “still just two kids from Croxteth” more than two decades after rising to fame.
The former footballer, 40, and his wife of 18 years are the focus of the new Disney Plus documentary series The Real Rooneys – which follows the couple during a pivotal year in their lives along with sons Kai, 16; Klay, 13; Kit, 10; and Cass, eight.
However, despite the series showing the family’s Cheshire mansion and holidays to Barbados and the Alps, the couple say they have not let fame and money go to their heads.
Fame from a young age
The couple have been married since 2008 after starting a relationship in their teens.
“Nothing drastically changed for us,” Wayne said of becoming a household name at 16 years old playing for Everton when he became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at the time.
His girlfriend at the time – Coleen – also soon found herself in the spotlight.
Reflecting on facing that attention when still teenagers, Coleen said experiencing it together allowed them to “really help each other”.
“We were both also really young and I don’t think we thought about it too much. I think that comes as you get older and people say now ‘oh you were so young’, but at the time we just dealt with it,” she said.
“We didn’t dwell on it. Now it’s good because Kai is 16 and we can pass on advice and tell him that he will make mistakes, but to learn from them and not to repeat them. It’s just life isn’t it.”
Wayne added: “We were just two kids from Croxteth and behind closed doors nothing changed. We are still those two kids who just annoy each other too.”
Opening up to the cameras
Over the years, the couple have largely raised their family out of the spotlight – but felt like now was the right time to share more of their lives with the public.
“I think we’re at a stage where we are all together at home. There’s been times where Wayne’s worked away, and it wouldn’t have worked then. But we also had a taste of doing documentaries and allowed cameras in our home, but obviously not as much as this,” Coleen said.
“But also I think we as people have grown and we are more confident and are ready to open up a lot more.”
The Real Rooneys follows the couple over the course of a year while Wayne steps away from football management, swapping the touchline for school runs, while Coleen embraces the biggest opportunities of her career.
Although the Rooneys have largely kept their sons out of the public eye, Wayne admitted they were “used to” the attention in them because of their parents.
“Kai has been getting his own attention now with his football, and the other kids have also been around it. They see obviously with us, and it’s not nice all the time – you can have good and bad days with it,” he said.
“But they’ve lived in that world, so they are used to this. Obviously, this is more exposure to them. But if we ever had one ounce of concern with it, then there is just no way we would have done the series.”
Doubts and family decisions
However, when asked whether they ever second guessed signing up once cameras started rolling, Coleen admitted there were “some days where I thought I could do without this”.
“But we were committed, and once we were in, we were in and went along with it. You know it’s real because there’s days where you don’t want to do things, but you still have to do it, so I think that was the thought process behind it. That we’re in, so we are going to see it through,” she said.
The couple also said they spoke to their four sons before accepting the offer – and throughout filming, they always had the chance to opt out of appearing in front of the cameras.
“We did give them that opportunity to say no,” Coleen said. “It was us who signed up and having the kids was a bonus, but if they weren’t taking part, that was fine.”
The Rooney boys also had no hesitation speaking their minds on camera, with one scene seeing Klay cheekily declare: “My mum’s only known because of my dad.”
Admitting she laughed when she saw some of their quips included in the series, Coleen said “kids are kids and they just say it as it is”.
“People can relate and it’s funny watching it and has made me laugh,” she added.
Wayne added: “We knew anything could come out… and sometimes it did.”
Disney teased of the 10 episode series, saying: “With unprecedented access, we follow the family through the highs and lows of married life, raising four lively boys, and supporting eldest son Kai as he pursues his own footballing dream. Along the way come surprising personal revelations, career-defining moments, lavish celebrations and unforgettable family holidays.
“From their Cheshire home to the beaches of Barbados and the snowy Alps, this is Britain’s most famous and private family as never seen before: warm, funny, and authentic.”
The Real Rooneys is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
