Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have interviewed Laura Simpson, the 29-year-old office worker who was pictured partying with Wayne Rooney two weeks ago, on the night he was arrested for drink-driving. Laura has since been quoted as saying she shared "a kiss and a hug" with the married footballer, but during an appearance on This Morning, she gave her side of the story.
Laura claimed she did "nothing wrong" on the night out. "Things in the paper are very inaccurate," she said. "I knew who Wayne was, we were just interacting. We ended up in the same area. I have been out with footballers before but it's not something that I do. I didn't have my eye on him. Not at all. I wasn't aware of anything in the surroundings. We just fell into talking to each other, that's the top and bottom of it."
"We just fell into talking to each other, that's the top and bottom of it," said Laura
Holly took a hard line of questioning, as she said: "You got in a car with a married man. I would never do that." But Laura replied: "In my eyes I did nothing wrong. I was a couple of drinks down. That wasn't discussed as to what would happen. If I got in a car in a cab with you (Phillip) I don't think I would be all over the newspapers." Phillip retorted: "You bloody would! My wife would be all over you, that's for sure. It would be in the newspapers."
When asked if she felt any regret, Laura replied: "Regret is a strong word for a situation where I feel like I've done nothing wrong. I regret the damage it's causing. But I don't feel I deserve all the hate I'm getting."
The couple are expecting their fourth baby
She also revealed that she has spoken to Wayne's wife Coleen, who is pregnant with the couple's fourth baby. "I feel like I've been thrown under the bus," she said. "Basically, I just asked her to give me a call. I told her everything I've told you. I told her nothing happened. I don't feel like I did anything wrong. It was on impulse, getting into the car ... going home." She concluded that she didn't "feel" anything towards Wayne, but in her opinion, "wouldn't do that to my partner".
Last month, Wayne, 31, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving. The footballer was stopped by police near his home in Cheshire, following an evening out. Coleen, who has been pictured without her wedding ring, has not publicly addressed the reports, although she wrote on Twitter: "Please can photographers have respect and stop following me with my three children in the car… it's dangerous and I've had enough."