Coleen Rooney has revealed what she believes is the secret to her and Wayne's 18-year marriage, as fans get a behind-the-scenes look at their lives in the new documentary series The Real Rooneys, now streaming on Disney+.
The couple, both 40, began dating shortly after leaving school, having grown up on the same housing estate in Liverpool. Wayne made his professional football debut for Everton in 2002 at 16 and proposed to a 17-year-old Coleen at a petrol station in 2003 with a four-carat, emerald-cut diamond ring reportedly worth £46,000.
They married in a lavish £5 million ceremony on the Italian Riviera on June 12, 2008, and have four sons: Kai, 16, Klay, 13, Kit, 10, and eight-year-old Cass.
Inside The Real Rooneys
The 10-episode series, which arrived on Disney+ on Thursday (September 24), offers unprecedented access to the family's life. Disney teased: "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."
Wayne's Career Shift
The series shows Wayne taking on more domestic duties as he builds a new punditry career after his playing days and a brief managerial stint. "Well, unfortunately, when we first started filming it, I'd just been sacked," Wayne laughed.
He admitted: "It got me at a vulnerable moment and going through a period where I didn't know what I was gonna do, if I'm being honest, in terms of. Do I stick to trying to go back into a manager's job, or do I go down a TV route or a punditry route? But I knew, obviously, just because I played the game, I couldn't just expect to go in and get jobs in that in that role."
"So I had to work on [that]. I've done a few shows before, and I end up saying up, and then I've gone on with doing Champions League games and the podcast as well, which has been a process over the last year, if you like. But it's actually brought me, and probably us as well, to a more balanced place in terms of sharing the load a bit more, whereas when i was away with football, a lot of that went onto Coleen."
Marriage Advice
Coleen explained the adjustment: "I think that, for me, it was, you know, the whole routine. I've always managed the kids in the house, and when Wayne stays, it's a bonus, but he's not always around, so my planning has always been a plan without him, and when he can be there, great."
"But then going to do the normal things, like the school runs, I found that difficult, like a difficult balance because it just came natural to me whereas if Wayne would say, 'Do you want me to do the school run?' And in my eyes, I was like, 'Well, why wouldn't you do?' You know, there are certain things like that, and it was difficult at the beginning."
On the key to their relationship, Coleen said: "Listen, talk to each other, and there's got to be love there. I've always said, nowadays, people are quick to call things out and give up on things. Whereas if the love's there, why not try and work at it? If it doesn't work, fair enough."
"But I've found in our relationship that what's worked for us is to give it time, don't just react in the moment and then see if you can work it out. And, you know, we've had really, really high highs and then we've had lows, and for us, we've had to live it with people looking in on us and judging us."
"We have put a barrier to that, that the only people that matter are each other and are close friends and family, and to just try and not think of what everyone else is saying because they don't know what goes on behind closed doors..."
Wayne interjected: "They do now!" referring to the series. Coleen laughed and added: "They do now! But you know, we look back, and I think I'm glad that we worked at it because we are at a really happy stage in life."
All episodes of The Real Rooneys are now available to watch exclusively on Disney+.
