Rebekah Vardy will not appeal the High Court ruling which saw her lose the £3million Wagatha Christie libel battle against Coleen Rooney.
The WAG – who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, 35 – sued Coleen, 36, for libel after she accused Rebekah of leaking ‘false stories’ to the media, with a judge ruling against Rebekah at the High Court.
A source told The Sun: ‘It’s all over and Becky wants to move on. The legal system is so frustrating that she would rather not return to court.
“At the moment, she enjoys being a mom and a wife. This all began when she was pregnant with her second child. Now, she’s two.
‘So Becky is enjoying spending time with her and her other children — and does not want another legal fight to get in the way.’
Rebekah could appeal the Wagatha Christie bombshell ruling, as she claimed that she was ‘devastated’ and called it ‘unjust’.
Rebekah’s sources said nothing had been ruled-out and that Coleen’s lawyers were still looking at the judgement’s 75 pages.
Rebekah Vardy will not appeal the High Court ruling which saw her lose the £3million Wagatha Christie libel battle against Coleen Rooney
Coleen, 36, was sued by the WAG, who is 35-year-old married to Jamie Vardy, Leicester City striker. Coleen had accused Rebekah, of leaked ‘false news’ to the media. A judge ruled against Rebekah in the High Court
Mrs Vardy and her footballer husband have been left with a £3million legal bill after Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in favour of Mrs Rooney
The 40-year-old’s reputation is in tatters after she scored one of the worst own goals in British legal history when a High Court judge dismissed her evidence as ‘evasive or implausible’ and accused her of deliberately deleting WhatsApp messages central to the case. Also, her agent was accused of deliberately dropping her phone into the North Sea.
Mrs Vardy and her footballer husband have been left with a £3million legal bill after Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in favour of Mrs Rooney in a judgment that said swathes of her evidence given under oath had been ‘manifestly inconsistent’, ‘not credible’ and needed to be treated with ‘very considerable caution’.
Rebekah expressed her sadness and disappointment at the court’s decision. This isn’t the outcome I expected and it doesn’t seem fair. This action was brought to protect my reputation. The judge’s decision is devastating.
The judge confirmed that Coleen’s post had been removed from the ‘public interest’. She also denied her claims that Coleen was the Secret Wag. The rest of her judgment is incorrect, and that I find unacceptable.
Elle added, “The case is closed.” “I want to say thank you all for supporting me.”
Vardy sued Vardy over allegations that she leaked information about her private lives to the media. The suit was filed after Mrs Rooney staged an elaborate sting operation in order to discover who had been passing along stories about her private lives to The Sun.
Justice Karen Steyn, a judge, stated that Coleen had proven her allegation to be substantially true in her ruling.
Mrs Rooney laid into the £3million cost of the disastrous Wagatha Christie libel brought by Mrs Vardy who obdurately pursued the own goal High Court battle that has destroyed her reputation despite her rival trying to settle the case at least four times.
Rebekah Vardy has ruined her reputation after losing the “Wagatha Christie” libel case. She was with Coleen Rooney. Coleen said that the case was a waste and Vardy shouldn’t have brought it to court.
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney together in 2016. In 2016, the WAGs were in court at the libel case of the year. Mrs Vardy has ruined her reputation after losing the case.
Coleen stated in a statement she was pleased with the decision but did not believe that the case should be taken to court at such a high cost in hardship times for many when it could have been spent better helping other people.
Mrs Rooney explained that it was not something she ever wanted or sought. It was a shame that it had to go to court in such a difficult time for many, at great expense. The money could have been better used helping other people.
“Both before, and after” my October 2019 posts on social media, I did everything possible to avoid a lengthy and embarrassing court case. My attempts at doing so were rebuffed by Mrs. Rebeccah Vardy.
“I was forced to take the legal action to defend myself against the repeated leaks of my personal information to The Sun.
These leaks started in 2017, from my private Instagram. These leaks continued almost for two years and intruded on my privacy as well as that of my family. Even though I don’t feel sorry for Mrs Vardy, my judgment today shows that I was correct in the things I posted in October 2019.
“Finally, thank you to my legal team and my family and friends for supporting me during this challenging and stressful time.”
The case against Coleen, the Leicester City striker’s wife, was pursued relentlessly by the couple for close to three years. Coleen had been accused of leakage of private stories regarding Coleen and her families to The Sun.
Two months ago, Mrs Justice Steyn handed down the shocking verdict of Court 13 at the High Court. This was just two months after the May hearing. Vardy’s failed suit for libel was labelled the most irresponsible in human history.
Coleen Rooney was out and about during the Wagatha Christie trial, Cheshire.
Rebekah Vardy was accused of posting a post accusing her social media account. It sparked a £3million legal battle that Mrs Rooney won after the judge agreed it was ‘substantially true’ and therefore not libellous
In the eyes of international media, Mrs Vardy insisted upon a complete trial.
High Court found Mrs Rooney’s accusation of her rival on social media was “substantially true” and Mrs Vardy knew, condoned, and actively participated in the leakage to the media by Caroline Watt.
And in a damning assessment of Mrs Vardy’s evidence, the judge said ‘significant parts were not credible’ and at times her ‘evidence was manifestly inconsistent with the contemporaneous documentary evidence, evasive or implausible’. Judge ruled that Coleen and Wayne were honest witnesses.
Mrs Justice Steyn also ruled that loss of WhatsApp messages between Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt was ‘deliberate rather than accidental’ – dismissing her agent’s claim that a phone fell into the North Sea when a ship hit a big wave.
The judge stated that Caroline Watt, Mrs Vardy’s agent at the same time, “undertook the direct act” of passing on the information to The Sun.
However, she said: “Nevertheless, evidence… clearly demonstrates, in my opinion, that Mrs Vardy was aware of and condoned the behavior. She directed Ms Watt towards the private Instagram account, sent Ms Watt screenshots from Mrs Rooney’s posts and drew attention to possible items of interest to the media. Ms Watt also answered any additional press inquiries.
The judge said: “In my judgement, the conclusions I reached regarding the extent to Which the Claimant Engaged in Disclosure to The Sun Information to which she had only access as Permitted Follower of an Instagram Account which she knew was private, Mrs Rooney repeatedly stated, suffice to prove the one meaning to be substantially true.”
The case captured millions’ attention for one week in May. It included explosive, expletive-filled Whatsapp message from Ms Vardy. Coleen also provided evidence regarding leaks of false stories about Coleen’s private life. She was trying to discover who gave them to the tabloids.
Rebekah Vady verdict: Wagatha Christi verdict in FULL. This verdict was made from Wagatha’s phone, which was launched into the North Sea as ‘evasive’ evidence. It also contains a photo of World Cup WAGs.
ByMartin Robinson, Chief EditorAnd MailOnline: Mark Duell
Rebekah Vardy lost her ‘Wagatha’ lawsuit against Coleen Roooney. It was over a viral post on social media. A High Court judge ruled it’substantially accurate’.
On October 2019, Mrs Rooney (36) stated she’d carried out a’sting operation for months’. She also accused Mrs Vardy (40) of leaked ‘false tales’ about her private lives to the media.
The ex-england star Wayne Rooney’s wife claimed that Mrs Vardy was behind the three stories in The Sun which featured fake information she posted to her Instagram Stories.
Jamie Vardy is married to Mrs Vardy. She denied the leaks and she sued Mrs Rooney for libel. However, Mrs Rooney supported the claim by stating that the post was’substantially truthful’.
The trial lasted for a week at London’s High Court. Today’s much-anticipated decision was released by Mrs Justice Steyn. She ruled in favour of Mrs Rooney and disallowed the claims against her.
The full decision was available on Courts and Tribunals Judiciary’s website at noon. It also includes the major areas which were resolved.
Coleen Rooney, Wayne Rooney left the Royal Courts Of Justice London on May 16, during the case ‘Wagatha Christie.
Rebekah Vardy, Jamie Vardy will leave London’s Royal Courts Of Justice on May 17th during the case ‘Wagatha Christi’
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney together in 2016. In 2016, the WAGs were in court at the libel case of the year. Mrs Vardy has ruined her reputation after losing the case.
Rebekah Vardy’s evidence is ‘not credible’.
Rebekah Vardy sketched at the High Court, where she was charged with lying and providing ‘implausible evidence’. Without explanation she left the courtroom for about an hour and returned to her home with some Lucozade along with her lawyer.
Mrs Justice Steyn found Rebekah Vardy’s testimony in the trial to be’manifestly contradictory’ with evidence from other cases on’many occasions.
Her judgment was that: “It was obvious that Mrs Vardy considered the process of giving testimony stressful and, at occasions, distressing.”
Judge Vardy added, “Nevertheless, it is necessary to treat Mrs Vardy’s evidence with great caution.”
“Her evidence was inconsistent with contemporaneous documentary evidence on many occasions, such as when she was evasive about the World Cup 2018 and photoshopped pictures. regarding the World Cup 2018, the photoshopped photographs, and other areas where she was evasive.
Ms Justice Steyn said that Mrs Vardy had been unwilling to accept factual concessions, no matter how improbable her evidence was. This affects her credibility in my view. However, I am aware that false evidence can be used to hide guilt or fortify innocence.
The phone lost at the bottom of the North Sea: Vardy and assistant’s missing WhatsApp messages
Rebekah Vardy argued that it was wrong for her to believe Caroline Watt (left), her friend and agent, who is too ill to go to the trial. Watt accused of telling Coleen lies. Both were found guilty by the judge.
Mrs Justice Steyn stated, “In my judgement, it is probable that Ms Vardy intentionally deleted her WhatsApp conversation with Ms Watt and that Ms Watt purposely dropped her phone in a sea.”
Rebekah Vardy was filming in Scotland, August 2021. Her friend and agent said her phone went into the North Sea.
Mrs Justice Steyn said that Caroline Watt was unlikely to have lost her phone by accident and that she likely deliberately dropped it into the sea.
The judge ruled that Ms. Watt was required to inspect her phone on August 4, 2021.
She stated that she was struck by the timing of Watt’s loss. However, it is unlikely that Watt’s accidental death is possible.
Agent’s ‘breakdown’ – because she knew evidence untrue
Rebekah Variy, according to Mrs Justice Steyn, did not call Caroline Watt as her agent because she was aware that the evidence she gave would be proven false.
Ms. Watt was scheduled to provide evidence to support Mrs Vardy. But, pre-trial she withdrew the evidence, and the court said it was due health concerns.
“I acknowledge that her health was negatively affected by these proceedings,” said the judge. But, it is clear to me that Ms. Watt knew full well that much of the evidence she gave was false.
The Sun’s opinion on whether Vardy leaked.
Coleen Rooney created three false stories using her Instagram account. The viewers were restricted to Rebekah Vardy and Coleen, in order to determine if they would be released to The Sun newspaper. Coleen posted one of the stories on April 8, 2019. She claimed she was traveling to Mexico to investigate a method to determine a baby’s sex. “Let’s go see what this gender selection means,” Mrs Rooney said, with some heart-emojis.
Coleen Rooney shared a photograph on her Instagram showing her damaged car following a collision. The next day Rebekah Vardy says in a WhatsApp message to Caroline Watt: ‘She’s a nasty b***h x’ and ‘I’ve taken a big dislike to her!… I would love to see those stories. Rebekah claimed that Coleen was not the subject of her remarks
The post that resulted in a newspaper article headlined ‘Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s £20million ‘Morrisons mansion’ flooded during Storm Lorenzo’. The court heard that the post, only visible to Rebekah’s Instagram account, showed a bottle of wine and was captioned: ‘Needed after today… flood in the basement of our new house… when it all seemed to be going so well’
The Court found Mrs Vardy, “together with Ms Watt”, was a party to The Sun disclosure.
The judge stated that it was likely that Ms. Watt had passed the information on to The Sun’s journalist about each post. However, the Court found that Claimant [Mrs Vardy]’Knew of, condoned, and was actively involved in this process’.
‘The evidence analysed clearly shows, in my view, that Ms Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to… sending her screenshots of Ms Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt’.
Rebekah should be calm after Wayne Rooney’s 2016 World Cup warning sent to Jamie Vardy
Roy Hodgson talks with Jamie Vardy (second from left), while Wayne Rooney (second to right) looks on as he trains at Stade de Bourgognes, Chantilly during Euro 2016 in France.
Former England teammates Wayne and Jamie were once described as ‘close friends on and off the field’ by former England manager Roy Hodson but all that was kicked into touch as the high-profile trial unfolded.
Jamie stared indifferently at Wayne as Wayne gave the final rites of any friendship they shared while the ex-captain for England took to the witness booth.
Wayne told the court that during the Euro 2016 tournament he spoke with Jamie following instructions from then manager Hodgson and assistant manager Gary Neville to ask him to ask his wife to ‘calm down’ over her ‘media antics’ which were causing ‘problems and distractions’ for the team in France.
Jamie read outside of court a statement declaring that Wayne was talking nonsense. Because he didn’t speak to me regarding issues relating to Becky’s media coverage at Euro 2016, he must have been confused. It was pointless, Becky and I have discussed everything.
In a second blow to Vardys the judge stated: ‘I accept Mr Rooney’s testimony that he was asked to speak with Mr Vardy by Roy Hodgson, England Manager and Gary Neville about the fact Ms Vardy’s activities in the media were causing problems, distractions, that the Football Association wanted to avoid’.
Warnings during the 2016 World Cup as well as Vardy’s seat-grab
Rebekah Vardy said that Coleen Rooney and her at an international soccer match photos (pictured) weren’t a set up after receiving information from a photographer agency
Harpreet Robertson, a former family liaison officer for the Football Association, described how Mrs Vardy’s guests became abusive and rude to her during the match.
Rebekah Robertson claimed Mrs Rooney was the one who sat behind her during the England-Wales game. Mrs Rooney said that Mrs Rooney, Mrs Rooney’s relatives were there and that she chose the most convenient seat to prevent a fuss.
The judge said she found Ms Robertson’s evidence ‘clear, consistent…and reliable’.
According to the judgment, Ms Vardy was found to have sat in front of Ms Rooney when she had been given a different seat.
“It’s possible that she did this because it was what her PR agency advised. This is consistent with her behavior during 2018 World Cup and Watt’s role in trying to get staged paparazzi pictures. My judgment was that Ms Vardy’s testimony in this regard wasn’t credible. She would not have been happy to blend into the background, which I don’t accept.
‘What a c***’: Vardy’s outrage at being unfollowed on Instagram by Coleen
Rebekah Vardy messaged her agent ‘OMG what a c***’ when Coleen Rooney unfollowed her on Instagram after ‘fake’ story about car crash was published, libel trial told
Rebekah Vardy has been quizzed once again at the Wagatha Christie libel trial about a WhatsApp exchange which saw her brand Coleen Rooney a ‘c***’ after she unfollowed her on Instagram.
‘OMG what a c***,’ Rebekah texted her agent Caroline Watt after realising what had happened, according to texts read out to the High Court earlier in the trial.
Judge said, “I accept that she expressed indignation.” However, it was misplaced disgust’. The judge stated that it was due to leaks to The Sun. [Rebekah]I thought Ms Rooney was wrong and that it was impossible for her to know this.
‘Leak the Maldives stuff’: Vardy and Danielle Lloyd’s relationship
Rebekah’s conflict with Danielle Lloyd (pictured), led to “legal correspondence” between them, according to the court.
Rebekah had an argument with another WAG, which resulted in a legal dispute. The High Court was notified.
Vardy was accused of having a “spat on Instagram” with Danielle Lloyd (ex-wife of Jamie O’Hara, ex-Tottenham Hotspur player)
A dispute led to ‘legal correspondence’ between the pair the court heard.
Coleen was allegedly trying to leak information from Rebekah to her agent by claiming that she had sent messages to Rebekah.
The judge said: ‘Ms Vardy’s evidence regarding this exchange was implausible. The natural reading of her message is that she was instructing Ms Watt to give the press “the Maldives stuff”.
‘The phrase “she’s gone and done it now” indicates that Ms Vardy was annoyed with Ms Lloyd. It was for that reason that she gave the instruction to “leak the Maldives stuff” which, it may be surmised, was information about Ms Lloyd which she would not have wanted to be provided to the press’.
‘Omg wtf is wrong with people’: Vardy’s message to Coleen about second leak
Rebekah was accused of trying to throw Coleen off her scent with “disingenuous” messages to her, suggesting that her account could have been hacked.
Rebekah sent Coleen a private message on November 1, 2017, saying: ‘Oh, my God. What the f*** is wrong with people. They have put Wayne and you in bed, but Wayne and I. In their eyes, that would have made a better bed. D***heads. I hope you’re OK.
David Sherborne stated that Rebekah wrote the message knowing she would be suspect.
The judge said: ‘The clear impression given by Ms Vardy’s messages to Ms Rooney, when considered in light of the evidence as a whole, is that they were disingenuous and probably written with the assistance of Ms Watt, with a view to allaying any suspicion that Ms Rooney might have. It is evident that Ms Vardy did not consider that it was “so bad!” to tell the press about posts such as the Pyjamas Post, which she probably considered to be harmless. Nor did she consider it worse to leak to “the sun of all people”, a newspaper for which she had written a column, given interviews, and to which (as I have found) she and her agent gave other people’s private information’.
‘Someone is selling you out’: Vardy’s exchanges with Coleen
Rebekah was heard to have gone ‘fishing in search of information’ hours after her husband had’spent some time’ in Florida with a barmaid. Coleen described how Rebekah contacted Coleen following The Sun’s report that Rebekah was planning to return to Britain and quit the US after Rooney had a meeting with Vicki Rosiek in Washington.
Rebekah reached Coleen after lunch on February 11, 2019. The day following the publication of the article, Rebekah sent the following: “Hi my love!” We hope that you are well. Just saw another s***ty story online! They should just let you guys be! I don’t understand how they do that. It’s relentless…stay strong. We send you hugs.
Coleen replied: ‘Thanks, just a pain in a**e…it’s the kids half term so just gonna come home.’ Rebekah replied to Coleen, “It’s just a joke!” It annoys me that someone is selling you out to me! What’s more, I’m not judging you for wanting to return home and spend time with your loved ones’.
The judge said today: ‘Ms Vardy’s messages were clearly sent to deflect suspicion from herself’.
Vardy losing her laptop
Court heard from Mrs Rooney that her lawyers first requested the laptop to be exported. When they then suggested that it be forensically examined they were informed it had already been disposed off. This despite Mrs Vardy being warned about how important it is to preserve evidence.
According to Mr Sherborne, “Right away your solicitors made it clear that document preservation was important.”
We were informed that WhatsApp exported from an old laptop used by the claimant in February 2022. It has since stopped working.
Following the examination suggestion, Mr Vardy read Mrs Vardy’s letter and said that the laptop of her client was no longer in his possession. Because it was beyond repairable, she decided to dispose of it. This laptop cannot be inspected.
The judge said today: The defendant was first informed of the disposal of the laptop on March 10 2022. Ms Vardy claimed she couldn’t recall the date she got rid of the laptop, but she acknowledged that she did so after being told to keep everything. She didn’t explain the reason she had to dispose of it.”
Photo taken at the 2018 World Cup: Setting up WAGs
Photo left to right: Gemma Acton (Millie Savage), Megan Davison/Becky Vardy and Annabel Peyton. Fern Hawkins. Shannon Horlock. Annie Kilner. Lucia Loi
Rebekah Vardy was accused of lying when she claimed that she had been drinking excessively and failed to recall the details of the 2018 World Cup paparazzi photos she helped set up. This happened as part of the Wagatha Christie Libel Trial.
This morning, she denied making the claim. She denied this morning the accusation when David Sherborne (a lawyer for Coleen Roney) asked her for more details. She said that she had been drinking quite a lot if I was completely truthful.
The judge said today: ‘The claimant originally pleaded that she “had nothing to do with the photograph which was published in The Sun on 26 June 2018”. The reply was later amended to admit that the claimant “arranged for a photographer to be present when she was leaving for the restaurant’.