Wayne Rooney mocked by wife over his bizarre Whitney Houston death tweet

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.”