Jamie Vardy has credited his wife Rebekah with saving his football career, admitting he would never have won the Premier League with Leicester City without her intervention. In a new Netflix documentary, the 39-year-old striker reveals he was drinking excessively and struggling under the pressure of playing for a top club until Rebekah, then his girlfriend, gave him a stark warning to 'rein it in' or risk losing everything.
Vardy, who was still playing non-league football at 22 and working in a factory, had joined Leicester but was failing to find form and confidence. Rebekah, who was pregnant at the time, tracked him down to a pub with the help of his agent and confronted him. She told the documentary: 'I said to him, you are gonna screw everything up that you've worked so bloody hard for if you don't change your lifestyle choices.'
The wake-up call proved pivotal. Vardy became more disciplined and focused, transforming into a lethal striker who helped Leicester secure an improbable Premier League title in 2016. Reflecting on that moment, Vardy said: 'What she was saying was right, it needed to stop. I needed to hear it.'
The couple first met in 2014 when Rebekah, then an event organiser, arranged a birthday party for Vardy. He arrived drunk and had to be carried out by friends, but pursued her relentlessly the next day. Rebekah initially had no interest, but eventually agreed to a date and was surprised to find him kind and a good listener. They began dating, and she became pregnant soon after.
The 90-minute Netflix film, released ten years after Leicester's title triumph, charts Vardy's rags-to-riches journey from factory worker to Premier League champion. It also features Rebekah, who lost the high-profile 'Wagatha Christie' libel case against Coleen Rooney in 2022, discussing her role in his career turnaround.
