Coleen Rooney claimed an emphatic victory in the Wagatha Christie libel trial today - and her defeated accuser Rebekah Vardy will be saddled with the lion's share of a whopping £3m legal bill.
The saga between the two WAGs started in October 2019 when Coleen, 36, famously revealed said she had carried out a 'sting operation' and accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking 'false stories' about her private life to the press in a viral Instagram post.
Mrs Vardy, who is married to Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, denied leaking stories to the media and sued her fellow footballer’s wife for libel, while Mrs Rooney defended the claim on the basis her post was 'substantially true'.
READ MORE: Rebekah Vardy loses libel trial against Coleen Rooney in bitter 'Wagatha Christie' court battle
In a much-anticipated ruling on Friday, Mrs Justice Steyn found in Mrs Rooney’s favour and dismissed the claim against her. The judge said it was 'likely' that Mrs Vardy’s agent at the time, Caroline Watt, 'undertook the direct act' of passing the information to The Sun.
But she added: “Nonetheless, the evidence … clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.”
It is estimated that the legal fees of both sides could top £3m. A hearing in March last year revealed Mrs Vardy had a costs budget for the case of nearly £900,000 while Mrs Rooney’s costs were estimated to be about £400,000.
However, it is believed the case has exceeded those budgets and the legal costs – including for the trial over seven days – will be at least £2m in total and potentially closer to £3m.
Usually someone who loses a civil case has to pay the vast majority of the other party’s legal costs.
After the judgment, Mrs Vardy thanked her supporters and said she was 'extremely sad and disappointed at the decision that the judge has reached'.
She continued: "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 judgment, she got it wrong and this is something I cannot accept."
The TV personality reiterated that she and her family – including her then unborn baby – were sent 'vile abuse' after the viral post and during the trial.
“Please can the people who have been abusing me and my family now stop. The case is over,” she added.
In her own statement following the judgment, Mrs Rooney welcomed her victory and said she had 'no ill-will' towards Mrs Vardy.
She said: “It was not a case I ever sought or wanted. I never believed it should have gone to court at such expense in times of hardship for so many people when the money could have been far better spent helping others.
"Both before and after my social media posts in October 2019, I made every effort to avoid the need for such a drawn-out and public court case. All my attempts to do so were knocked back by Mrs Vardy."
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