The former England captain defended his much-ridiculed tribute to the late music legend during a revealing radio appearance with his wife.
Coleen Rooney has poked fun at her husband Wayne Rooney over his infamous tribute to Whitney Houston.
The couple, both 40, revisited the social media blunder during an appearance on Hits Radio to promote their new 10-part Disney+ documentary series, The Real Rooneys.
The programme follows their lives with their four sons at their Cheshire home, charting Coleen’s return to work and Wayne’s adjustment to life outside football management.
Their exchange concerned a message Wayne posted on Twitter following Whitney’s death in February 2012, which has repeatedly resurfaced online because of its unusual wording.
Reading the original post aloud, Coleen said: “This is one of my favourites, this one (reads tweet) and then put ‘@’ but you forgot to tag anyone.”
Wayne’s message had read: “Whitney has passed away. RIP u will live on forever. Cant believe it. I wanna run to u. Really cant believe this @.”
The final symbol appeared to suggest that Wayne had intended to tag another account but had failed to complete the message.
Despite the years of jokes surrounding the post, Wayne defended his reaction to the death of the American singer, whose hits included I Will Always Love You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and I Have Nothing.
He said: “I was just too hurt. Obviously I love Whitney Houston. I love Celine Dion. There’s a few singers who, you know, don’t you? Beyonce, I love. And then it was a bit of a shock so.”
Whitney died aged 48 after being found submerged in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.
Her death was ruled an accidental drowning, with atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use identified as contributing factors.
The singer, who starred opposite Kevin Costner in the 1992 film The Bodyguard, was one of the most successful recording artists of her generation.
Coleen also questioned Wayne about his continuing presence on Twitter, now known as X, after he acknowledged he had to resist the temptation to post impulsively.
She said: “People do say they do miss you on (Twitter.) You are still on there.”
Wayne replied: “Yeah I am but if I am and I have to like stop myself because I’ll end up getting in trouble.”
The exchange comes as the couple offer viewers access to their family life in The Real Rooneys, which follows their marriage, parenting responsibilities and changing professional circumstances.
The Disney+ series features their four sons – Kai, 16, Klay, 13, Kit, 10, and Cass, eight – including Kai’s ambitions to follow his father into professional football.
Wayne remains Manchester United’s record goalscorer and England’s former leading international scorer, having won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during his playing career.
He subsequently moved into management, working at Derby County, DC United, Birmingham City and Plymouth Argyle.
His departure from Plymouth in December 2024 came during the period covered by the documentary, when Coleen was rebuilding her own career following her appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Coleen finished runner-up in the ITV reality competition in 2024, after reportedly receiving £1.5 million to take part.
Her television appearance followed years of public attention surrounding the so-called Wagatha Christie dispute with Rebekah Vardy, 44, which resulted in a high-profile libel trial in 2022.
Coleen’s latest television venture has coincided with a substantial increase in her business earnings.
Accounts filed for CWR 2021, the company used to manage her income, showed funds of £2,437,718 for the year ending September 2025, compared with £580,779 the previous year.
The increase followed her I’m a Celebrity appearance and a commercial partnership with Primark, for which she developed a fashion collection.
Disney+ reportedly secured the rights to the family documentary after competing with Amazon, with the deal said to be worth £10 million.
Wayne Rooney mocked by wife over his bizarre Whitney Houston death tweet
