Wayne and Coleen Rooney could be risking their marriage by exposing their private lives to TV cameras in a new ten-part Disney+ documentary series, a leading psychologist has warned. The show, which has the working title The Rooneys, promises to show the couple “like we’ve never seen them before”, but expert Emma Kenny says it may pile unbearable pressure on their relationship.
“So many celebrity couples break up after being on reality TV because the show doesn’t just reflect the relationship, it reshapes it,” said Kenny. “Coleen and Wayne must remember that a TV show is only temporary – but the emotional consequences can be permanent.” The psychologist added that reality TV strips away privacy, replaces it with constant surveillance and manufactured conflict, and can expose fault lines for entertainment.
The series, which will follow Coleen’s entrepreneurial ventures and Wayne’s new role doing the school run, is said to be Coleen’s brainchild. After the success of her Disney+ documentary Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story and her stint on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2024, she is keen to be seen as more than just a footballer’s wife. A source said the show is “all about her” and she is “sick of people saying that she’s a footballer’s wife.”
The couple, who have four sons, have endured past troubles including Wayne’s infidelities. Kenny warned that the power dynamics could shift on reality TV, with public sympathy landing unevenly, and that shame and perceived betrayal can damage trust irreparably. However, a source close to the Rooneys said filming is already well under way and is “doing their relationship good.”
“Coleen has never been happier with Wayne,” the source revealed. “It’s made Wayne look at her in a new light. He realises how lucky he is to have her, so their relationship is in a really good place.” Despite the positive outlook, Kenny cautioned that the ongoing intrusion of a longer series could take its toll on even stable couples, as the artificial environment of reality TV can provoke vulnerability without providing tools to manage it.
