What Coleen Rooney can teach Georgia Jones after McFly hubby’s Brits kiss with Maura Higgins
GEORGIA JONES, previously known as “Danny Jones’ wife”, is now set to become “Georgia Jones, reality star” after being offered a slot on Celebrity Big Brother – proving the best revenge is airtime.
Women are no longer just moving on from high-profile betrayals, they’re leveraging them for TV and book deals, and brand partnerships.
Forget the revenge body — this is the revenge career.
If you’re out of the loop, let’s catch you up. Georgia’s husband, McFly’s Danny, was caught on film snogging Maura Higgins at the Brit Awards afterparty.
But just as everyone expected Georgia to fade into the background, stoically nursing a glass of sauvignon blanc in a dark kitchen, CBB bosses swooped to offer her a place in the house.
Instead of the usual routine of “wronged woman stands by her man, in quiet devastation” she now has a chance to do something far more interesting — control the story herself.
Of course, there’s been the usual polite suggestions that the dignified thing for Georgia to do would be to decline the offer, take the high road and quietly move on with her life.
Because, naturally, being “dignified” and seizing a lucrative, high-profile opportunity are mutually exclusive concepts.
This is the dilemma that has faced women for centuries — react and you’re bitter, stay silent and you’re weak, do well for yourself and you’re capitalising on your own misfortune.
It’s the kind of sanctimonious critique that would never be directed at a man — see any male celebrity who has monetised a scandal.
The truth is, the “dignified” option is rarely about what’s best for the woman — it’s about keeping everyone else comfortable.
Georgia appearing on Celebrity Big Brother isn’t undignified, it’s a strategic move in an industry that has no problem exploiting women’s pain.
If TV producers are going to milk the story, why shouldn’t Georgia be the one getting paid for it?
In 1992, Hillary Clinton sat beside husband Bill on 60 Minutes and addressed his alleged infidelity by stating: “I’m not sitting here, some little woman, standing by my man like Tammy Wynette.”
Hillary played the dignified game, stood by him, climbed the ranks of politics.
Many of us wanted her to win the 2016 Presidential race, not just because she was capable but because it would have been deliciously satisfying.
A full-circle moment — Monica Lewinsky scandal wife becomes President of the United States.
Alas, it didn’t happen — but the playbook for scorned women getting their own back is evolving.
Today, the Hillarys don’t have to wait for political redemption. They get book deals (Rebecca Humphries), reality TV careers (Georgia Jones), even get their own Netflix specials (Coleen Rooney).
For decades, wives of famous men were expected to remain silent as their husbands’ sex scandals played out in public.
They were wheeled out for a sad press conference, and instructed to stand by their man, then quietly disappeared from public view.
Rebecca Humphries, once known as “the girlfriend Seann Walsh cheated on”, completely reclaimed her story with Why Did You Stay?, a memoir about gaslighting, emotional abuse and rediscovering self-worth.
Coleen Rooney, who could have remained a long-suffering footballer’s wife, instead turned Wagatha Christie into a cultural moment, complete with a documentary, bestselling book and her stint on I’m a Celeb.
If your husband publicly humiliates you, at the very least you should get a platform, paycheck and decent stylist out of it.
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