What 'Coleen Rooney vs Rebekah Vardy' tells us about contemporary gender politics

The furore over the apparent betrayal of Coleen Rooney by her friend Rebekah Vardy – who is accused of leaking private information about the Rooney family to The Sun newspaper – has generated reams of media coverage, conversation and commentary in just a few days, writes Jilly Boyce Kay and Melanie Kennedy.

Coleen Rooney is married to former England football star Wayne, while Rebekah’s husband is England player Jamie. The pair are stalwarts of the UK’s tabloid media and barely a day does by without a mention of one or the other as they pursue an expensive lifestyle in full view of the paparazzi.