Rebekah Vardy has broken her silence and shared her "disappointment" after the verdict was announced in her libel trial against Coleen Rooney.
The 40-year-old media personality had taken Coleen, 36, to the High Court after being accused of leaking private messages from Instagram to The Sun, in what was dubbed the Wagatha Christie trial.
Judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, gave her ruling on Thursday lunchtime, in which she ruled in favour of Coleen.
Speaking for the first time since the verdict Rebekah shared a statement, which read: "I am extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the Judge has reached. It is not the result that I had expected, nor believe was just. I brought this action to vindicate my reputation and am devastated by the Judge’s finding.
"The judge accepted that publication of Coleen's Post was not in the 'public interest' and she also rejected her claim that I was the 'Secret Wag'. But as for the rest of her judgement, she got it wrong and this is something I cannot accept.
"As I explained in my evidence I, my family and even my unborn baby, were subjected to disgusting messages and vile abuse following Coleen’s Post and these have continued even during the course of the trial.
"Please can the people who have been abusing me and my family now stop. The case is over.
"I want to thank everyone who has supported me."
It comes after Coleen, 36, shared a statement following the verdict, admitting she was "pleased" but insisting she has "no ill will" against Rebekah.
The statement from Coleen, which she later posted on Instagram, read: "Naturally, I am pleased the judge has found in my favour in her judgement today.
"It was not a case I ever sought or wanted.
"Both before and after my social media posts in October 2019, I made constant efforts to avoid the need for such a public and drawn out court case.
"But all my efforts to do so were knocked back by Mrs Vardy and her lawyers.
"This left me with no alternative but to go through with the case to defend myself and to end the repeated leaking of my private information to The Sun."
The statement added: "The leaks from my private Instagram account began in 2017. They continued for almost two years, intruding on my privacy and that of my family.
"Although I bear Mrs Vardy no ill will, today’s judgement makes clear that I was right in what I said in my Instagram posts.
"Finally, I would to thank all of my legal team, my family and friends and everyone who has supported me – including the public – through this difficult and stressful time."
Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in favour of Coleen following the libel trial. She wrote in her decision of Rebekah and her then-agent Caroline Watt: "The Court found that the Claimant, together with Ms Watt, was party to the disclosure to The Sun of the Marriage, Birthday, Halloween, Pyjamas, Car Crash, Gender Selection, Babysitting and Flooded Basement Posts.
"The Court considered it likely that Ms Watt undertook the direct act, in relation to each post, of passing the information to a journalist at The Sun, but found that the Claimant knew of, condoned and was actively engaged in this process."
The high-profile court case – issued by Rebekah – drew to a close in May, after a number of revelations were made.
Rebekah had always vehemently denied the claims, which were made while she was pregnant with her youngest daughter, and later decided to take Coleen to court over them.
In a now famous post, Coleen uses social media to accuse Rebekah of selling stories from her private Instagram account to the tabloids.
These posts included a gender selection clinic in Mexico, Coleen's plan to work on TV and that the basement of her new mansion had flooded.
After this public outing, Rebekah launched a libel action against Coleen, in June 2020, saying that the accusations about leaking stories from the Instagram account were false.
Rebekah, who was pregnant at the time of Coleen's reveal, has claimed that it cost her a book deal and an endorsement of placenta capsules and had led to getting a lot of abuse on social media.
Now that the verdict has been given, the losing party could seek permission to appeal
The losing party will have a liability for substantial costs, which will be decided at a later hearing.
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