Coleen Rooney has expressed “relief” after a High Court ruling ordered Rebekah Vardy to pay a substantial sum in legal costs, seemingly concluding the long-running “Wagatha Christie” libel battle.
Taking to Instagram, Rooney stated that the court’s decision on costs brought “closure” for her and her family. The ruling requires Vardy to pay at least ÂŁ1.4 million, marking a significant financial consequence of the high-profile case.
The legal dispute stemmed from a 2019 social media post by Rooney, which alleged that Vardy’s Instagram account was the source of leaked information about her to The Sun newspaper. Vardy subsequently sued Rooney for libel, claiming the accusation caused “very serious harm to her reputation”. Tuesday’s ruling appears to bring an end to the legal proceedings, which have spanned over five years.
After a seven-day trial, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in Mrs Rooneyâs favour in July 2022, finding it was âlikelyâ that Mrs Vardyâs agent, Caroline Watt, had passed information to The Sun and that Mrs Vardy âknew of and condoned this behaviourâ and had âactivelyâ engaged.
The two were then engaged in a battle over legal costs for almost three years, potentially culminating on Tuesday when a specialist costs court was told that Mrs Vardy had agreed to pay almost ÂŁ1.2 million of Mrs Rooneyâs legal costs, with a judge also ruling she must pay an additional ÂŁ212,000.
Mrs Rooney must also pay Mrs Vardy a total of ÂŁ135,097.50 in costs under the terms of court orders from 2024, which will be set off against what Mrs Vardy must pay.
Posting on social media on Wednesday evening, Mrs Rooney wrote: âThe ruling yesterday in my favour finally brings this claim to an end, itâs a relief and brings closure for my family and I.
âThroughout this long process, I am grateful that the judgments have consistently gone my way.
âHowever, as I have always maintained, this claim did not need to be made or run for as long as it did.
âThe time and money should have been put to better use.
âI want to thank my legal representative, management, friends and family for their guidance and constant support.
âThanks also to the public and many well-wishers who have been in touch with such kind messages.
âThis episode is not something that I ever wanted in my life.
âHowever, I am thankful for the way my family and team have dealt with it.
âWe look forward to moving on with our lives.â
The case began in October 2019, when Mrs Rooney publicly claimed Mrs Vardyâs account was the source behind three stories featuring fake details she had posted on her private Instagram profile â her travelling to Mexico for a âgender selectionâ procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home.
Mrs Rooney wrote: âI have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them.
âItâs ⌠Rebekah Vardyâs account.â
The case first went to court in November 2020, with a judge finding that Mrs Rooneyâs post âclearly identifiedâ Mrs Vardy as being âguilty of the serious and consistent breach of trustâ.
