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 £1.4 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 Rooney’s favour in July 2022, finding it was “likely” that Mrs Vardy’s agent, Caroline Watt, had passed information to The Sun and that Mrs Vardy “knew of and condoned this behaviour” and had “actively” 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 £1.2 million of Mrs Rooney’s legal costs, with a judge also ruling she must pay an additional £212,000. Mrs Rooney must also pay Mrs Vardy a total of £135,097.50 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: "The ruling yesterday in my favour finally brings this claim to an end, it’s a relief and brings closure for my family and I. Throughout this long process, I am grateful that the judgments have consistently gone my way. However, as I have always maintained, this claim did not need to be made or run for as long as it did. The time and money should have been put to better use. I want to thank my legal representative, management, friends and family for their guidance and constant support. Thanks also to the public and many well-wishers who have been in touch with such kind messages. This episode is not something that I ever wanted in my life. However, I am thankful for the way my family and team have dealt with it. We look forward to moving on with our lives."
The case began in October 2019, when Mrs Rooney publicly claimed Mrs Vardy’s account was the source behind three stories featuring fake details she had posted on her private Instagram profile – her travelling to Mexico for a “gender selection” procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home. Mrs Rooney wrote: "I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It’s … Rebekah Vardy’s account."
The case first went to court in November 2020, with a judge finding that Mrs Rooney’s post “clearly identified” Mrs Vardy as being “guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust”.
Coleen Rooney has broken her silence after Tuesday's ruling which saw Rebekah Vardy agree to pay out almost £1.2 million. Mrs Vardy attempted to sue Coleen for defamation after her viral tweet - which saw her dubbed Wagatha Christie - but was unsuccessful after a High Court judge ruled in July 2022 the accusations were "substantially true".
At a hearing on Tuesday May 6, Mrs Vardy's barrister claimed the legal costs have now been settled. Coleen took to social media to update fans following the confirmation.
In an Instagram story, she said: "The ruling yesterday in my favour finally brings this claim to an end, it's a relief and brings closure for my family and I. Throughout this long process, I am grateful that the judgements have consistently gone my way. However, as I have always maintained, this claim did not need to be made or run for as long as it did. The time and money should have been put to better use. I want to thank my legal representatives, management, friends and family for their guidance and constant support. Thanks also to the public and many well-wishers who have been in touch with such kind messages. This episode is not something that I ever wanted in my life. However, I am thankful for the way my family and team have dealt with it. We look forward to moving on with our lives."
In 2019, Mrs Rooney accused Mrs Vardy of leaking her private information to the press, which Mrs Justice Steyn found was "substantially true". The judge later ordered Mrs Vardy, the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, to pay 90% of Mrs Rooney's legal costs following the Wagatha Christie libel battle, including an initial payment of £800,000.
Mrs Rooney ran up a legal bill totalling more than £1.8 million after she successfully defended the libel claim. Written submissions confirmed the exact costs involved in the settlement as Mrs Vardy’s barrister, Juliet Wells, said Mrs Rooney's total legal bill of £1,833,906.89 "has now been settled at £1,190,000, being c.£1,125,000 plus interest of c.£65,000."
