Coleen Rooney has proved a hit with viewers (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The heartwarming reunion of Coleen Rooney with her sons Kit, eight, and Cass, six, left viewers deeply touched. After weeks apart, the television star’s embrace with her pulled on the nation’s heartstrings.
, unbeknownst to herself, won over viewers throughout her jungle journey, positioning her as a top contender to win. Yet in the midst of this tender family moment, her mother Colette discerned Coleen’s anxiety about the public’s perception, “As I held her, one of the things she said to me was ‘mum, have I been boring?’,” recalled Colette.
“It broke my heart hearing that but I said, ‘no, you’ve been yourself and that’s all that matters.”
In conversation with as the finale loomed, Colette lauded her daughter’s humility and reassured her, stating, “If she went in shouting and being loud, that wouldn’t be her. We’ve seen the true Coleen.”
In the lead-up to the series’ climax, Colette opened up about how Coleen has reclaimed her verve for life and confidence after a challenging couple of years, marked by her High legal wrangle. Seeing her daughter on the show convinced Colette that the jungle adventure was just what Coleen needed to rekindle her zest and self-assurance, “Absolutely, the show’s helped it come back, and also her confidence, because she was really lacking in it,” Colette says.
Unbeknown to Coleen, her jungle exploits have captured the heart of the nation and made her one of the favourites to win. (Image: undefined)
Describing the torment of witnessing her daughter’s struggles, she recounted: “Horrendous, because at one time during the trial, we lost Coleen.Coleen wasn’t Coleen. She couldn’t be herself. We didn’t know before the trial what was going on because she didn’t tell us. We noticed a difference in her behaviour, in her attitude, she even distanced herself. So when it all came out, it was a relief for us, really, because then we knew what was going on. But now we’ve got her back fully.”
Colette’s anticipation was palpable when she visited the camp to see how Coleen was faring in the jungle: “She said that she didn’t want me to go, and I said ‘come home now, come home.'” But Coleen soon reassured her, despite the initial challenges: “She said that she had a headache for the first few days because she was getting no sugar, and must have been detoxing, but then she said how hard it had been.”
With the addition of her sons to the show, Coleen’s spirits soared. In the moment leading up to their mother’s arrival, the boys could scarcely contain their excitement: “They keep asking: ‘Is she here, really? ‘ They kept thinking she was going to jump out from behind a bush any minute,” Colette shares.
Colette said that her daughter’s jungle experience has been just the tonic needed after a tough two years centered around her High Court battle (Image: Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)
The children’s eagerness was heartwarming: “We kept saying to them ‘five more minutes and you’ll see your mum again’. They just couldn’t wait. It was so lovely. I heard almost a squeal of a cry from her, and my heart just lifted when I saw her. It was wonderful seeing the boys in her arms, and they were so excited.”
The boys soon received a VIP tour of the camp from their mum. “They really wanted to see the dunny and the beds, and were asking endless questions. They were obsessed. Leaving was tough but we reassured them it won’t be long before you see your mum again, although Cass got quite emotional at the end.”
With Coleen in the jungle, and Wayne busy managing Plymouth Argyle on the south coast, Colette and her husband Tony have been caring for the boys. “Her dad sobbed this morning when he watched Coleen with the boys. He’s very protective of Coleen and all his children, and it really moved him.”
She adds that the boys have been a joy to look after and are “used to being with me and their granddad so it’s nothing new.” While she is in Australia, her two eldest boys Kai, 15, Klay, 11 have been regularly Facetiming her. “They are saying how proud of their mum they are, especially the drinking trials … everyone is particularly impressed by how she just downed it,” Colette laughs.
She also frequently chats with husband Wayne on Facetime. “Today he was saying: ‘get in there’ when she got through. He’s over the moon, he really is. He obviously misses her but he is really proud of how she is doing,” she says.
Like the millions of viewers at home, Colette has been wowed by Coleen’s composure during the trials. “Coleen is very patient, she takes her time, and she’ll think things through. She would never give up, that’s not her. She hesitated a little putting her hand up at the trials but that was out of her being polite. She was giving other people a chance, because she’s done quite a few. And she didn’t want to be seen to be too pushy.”
There have been some touching moments in the camp as well. During a conversation, Coleen revealed that Wayne can no longer watch their son Kai play football due to the excessive attention he attracts. “The boys feel it…they want their dad to be with them,” she shared. “Sadly, people approach him, thinking they have the right to do so. It’s not easy to turn them away, but he just wants to spend time with his own children.”
But one thing is certain: she couldn’t be more proud or excited. “I’ve upset everyone back home because I’ve been calling them in my excitement, not realising the time and waking them up. Coleen wanted people to see her for who she truly is. And I believe she’s accomplished that. This is the Coleen we know, and now it’s the Coleen everyone knows.