Rebekah Vardy's bitter feud with Iain Lee in full as private texts reveal shock U-turn

Rebekah Vardy has been caught up in new bullying claims after ex-I'm A Celeb contestant Iain Lee slammed her for making him feel 'miserable' during their time on the show

Former I'm A Celebrity contestants Rebekah Vardy and Iain Lee have lashed out at each other in a bitter spat.

The wife of England footballer Jamie Vardy, 40, has been back in the spotlight with her newspaper column dedicated to I'm A Celeb drama, conveniently launched after Coleen Rooney entered the jungle. But now, she's caught up in more than one showbiz feud after comedian Iain spoke out about his negative experience with her.

Iain, 51, slammed Rebekah for being a 'bully' and 'obnoxious' in an interiew last week, claiming he had a mental breakdown after being on the series with her in 2017. Following his troubling claims, Rebekah took to her Instagram account on Saturday to ask Iain to 'leave her alone', sharing a number of shock text threads. Here, the Mirror takes a look back at the pair's brutal clash in full...

Twitter row

Rebekah and Iain were on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here together seven years ago. A couple of years after their stint, the comedian took to Twitter to claim Rebekah had bullied him during the show. He wrote: "Just had an interview request to talk about how Rebekah Vardy is so brave for promoting mental health... she contributed to me being f**king miserable and isolated in the jungle...so, that's a pass from me."

Lee went on to explain his refusal and claimed: "I don't know if you saw any of I'm A Celebrity when I was in there. Vardy was a bully, a liar and a manipulator. She was part of a team that targeted me and made much of my time in there miserable. Her first comment to me was 'I think you're a bit of a t**t'.

"She encouraged people not to talk to and left me isolated (apart from two campmates who were not taken in by her). When she came out of the camp she told lies about me. She bullied my sister who was staying in Australia and told her, 'In my world, men don't cry'.

"Part of me hopes your email is a ruse to get an interview from me which I think is about her bravery and they you skewer to make it about her bullying and belittling. I hope the latter is correct because if you are trying to show her as a mental health ambassador, I'm afraid you couldn't be further from the truth."

Following the tweets, Rebekah warned the comedian that she would publish their private text messages, where Iain allegedly said that he never felt like she bullied him while they were in the jungle together. Iain subsequently deleted all the posts and asked Rebekah if she would like a public apology. He insisted that he didn't want to go into why he made the claims on Twitter, but instead said that he felt like he was miserable while in the jungle.

Fresh 'bullying' remarks

In an interview with MailOnline last week, mental health coach Iain discussed his time in the jungle with Rebekah. He said: "There are some people who love the notoriety of being outrageous and obnoxious because it keeps them in the spotlight. I think Rebekah Vardy is one of them.

"When I was on the show, she bullied me and led a clique that picked on me. There were two occasions when I wanted to get out, it was so toxic and dark in there. I thought: 'I can't be with these people.' I don't watch the show now because of what I experienced."

He then described how after he won a challenge and got to pick five other contestants to live in luxury with him he "didn't pick her and that made her angry," recalling how Rebekah allegedly "came up to me, pointed at me and swore at me. It was very intimidating, and it didn't make me feel very welcome".

Iain claimed the way he was treated on the show led to him needing therapy when he left and that he ultimately quit showbiz as a result to retrain as a counsellor. He now works helping victims of bullying and those who suffer from depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.

Iain added: "My experience in the jungle led me to change career and become a counsellor. I started seeing a great therapist and work through what happened to me. When I came out of the show I was not all right. It sent me into a spiral of depression and anxiety. It really upset me.

"I made it known that she [Rebekah] made me f**king miserable and isolated when I was in the jungle and was a bully, liar and manipulator. But all that's in the past now. I've been able to make peace with it all and put into perspective that the behaviour directed towards me was not my fault. I just never fitted in with what Rebekah Vardy's idea of a man is. I had to go through this process otherwise it would have eaten me up."

Rebekah previously denied bullying Iain and after they left the show she said: "You know what, I was the one that was being the most supportive of him. A bully? I've never been a bully in my whole entire life."

Private texts

On Saturday night, Rebekah aired her alleged text exchanges with Iain. Alongside the screenshots, she wrote: "Wish this man would just leave me alone. There is only one bully here and it's not me."

In one conversation from the WAG's screenshots, Rebekah appears to have reached out to Iain in 2017. In the alleged texts, kust days after the pair left the jungle, Rebekah sent Iain a text saying: "I have no bad feelings towards you at all. I'm really sad it's been portrayed the way it has. It's hurt me."

In a follow-up text, she wrote: "You've been through an incredible deal in life. I truly hope you manage to sort things with your wife and see your boys." In response, Iain allegedly confirmed that there were no hard feelings between the pair - a stark contrast to what he has said last week about Rebekah being a 'bully'.

In texts dated on December 17, 2017, Iain allegedly replied: "I know it has. I'm upset like I say by what was said behind my back those few times but I don't class it as bullying. And I have no hard feelings towards you. You're pretty amazing."

Then after Iain spoke out, Rebekah appears to have messaged him to say: "Iain why are you doing this? You know you are lying about things... you are inciting bullying this has to stop I have all the messages between us that completely contradict your ridiculous claims. Remember the Christmas hamper you accepted from me... this is ridiculous and you are causing me unnecessary pain and upset.

"Who was the one that kept talking to you all the time in the jungle. Who was the one that kept making you eat, that told you to be proud to fight for your sons. As for your sister... where did you make that up from years later. Stop this b******s or I will."

The Mirror has approached Rebekah and Iain's respective representatives for comment on this story.