Rebekah Vardy has lost her battle to sue Coleen Rooney for defamation.
The internet exploded on October 9, 2019 when Mrs Rooney accused Mrs Vardy's Instagram account of selling stories about her. Mrs Rooney earned the nickname "Wagatha Christie" after she shared details of the sting operation she conducted to find out who she believed was selling stories about her to The S*n
The High Court ruled today that Mrs Rooney's claims were "substantially true". Wayne Rooney's wife released a statement after the victory and said the expensive legal fees "could have been far better spent helping others".
READ MORE: Every word of the judge's decision as Coleen Rooney wins Wagatha Christie case against Rebekah Vardy
According to Mirror Online, the expensive legal trial is estimated to to be in the region of £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 now exceeded those budgets and the legal costs – including for the trial over seven days – will be at least £2m in total. The person who loses the case will have to pay the vast majority of the other party’s legal costs.
Mrs Vardy issued a statement and said she was "extremely sad and disappointed" after losing the High Court case. She said: "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." Mrs Vardy issued a plea to those who have subjected her to abuse to stop and indicated she does not intend to appeal against the ruling, saying "the case is over".
She said: "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."
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