Wagatha Christie's defamation trial ends in defeat for Rebekah Vardy
Coleen Rooney, wife of former England football captain Wayne, has emerged victorious in a defamation case with another footballer partner after a High Court judge agreed that Rebekah Vardy had leaked her story to the press.
Key points:
- Rebekah Vardy has sued Coleen Rooney for a now-famous Instagram post accusing her of leaking private stories to the tabloids
- A judge finds Ms Rooney’s allegations “substantially true”
- During the trial, it was revealed that the key evidence – a cell phone containing incriminating text – was thrown into the North Sea.
In a case that has gripped the public with a mix of glamour, sports and amateur detectives, the judge backed Ms Rooney’s public statement that Ms Vardy had leaked personal details about her to the tabloid The Sun.
Vardy said he was “devastated” by the decision, saying “this is something I cannot accept.”
The intrigue began almost three years ago when Rooney became suspicious about his personal life story appearing in The Sun, and became a detective to try to find the culprit.
He said he blocked everyone from viewing his Instagram account except for one person and then posted a series of fake stories to see if they leaked, and they were.
Rooney wrote on his social media accounts that only one person had seen the fake story, ending with the dramatic revelation: “This is… Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
Ms Vardy, 40, is suing Ms Rooney, in a feud dubbed the “WAGatha Christie” case: a combination of the “WAG” moniker given to a group of footballers’ wives and girlfriends with the famous detective novel writer, in honor of Ms. Rooney’s theft.
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The judge, Judge Karen Steyn, said Rooney proved his allegations “substantially true”. He concluded that Ms Vardy knew and forgave the details leaked to The Sun by her agent, Caroline Watt.
“That’s not the case I’ve ever sought or wanted,” Rooney said in a statement.
“I never believed it should be brought to justice at such a cost … when the money could be used to help other people.”
Any decision on who bears the legal costs will be finalized at a future hearing. British media speculated the cost of the trial in the millions of pounds.
“While I did not mean anything bad to Mrs Vardy, today’s assessment makes clear that I was correct in what I said in my post in October 2019,” Rooney said.
Vardy said he was “deeply saddened and disappointed by the decision”.
“This was not the result I expected, or I believe to be fair. I took this action to defend my reputation and am devastated by the judge’s findings,” he said in a statement.
“[The judge] wrong and this is something I cannot accept.”
Phone at the bottom of the sea
During the trial in May, the court was shown an exchange of messages between Ms Vardy and Ms Watt, including derogatory comments about Ms Rooney and talk of leaked stories.
Rooney’s lawyer said Vardy deleted files and other media messages.
Ms Watt’s phone ended up at the bottom of the North Sea after she said she accidentally dropped it on the side of the boat.
“Most likely Miss Vardy intentionally deleted the WhatsApp chat with Miss Watt, and Miss Watt intentionally dropped her phone into the sea,” Judge Steyn said.
The judge held that Ms Rooney was honest, but said some of Ms Vardy’s testimony was not credible and there was “a degree of self-deception on her part regarding the extent to which she was involved”.
The courtroom drama has attracted the same degree of public attention towards one of their husband’s famous football matches.
Wayne Rooney holds the record for most international goals for England, while Ms Vardy’s husband Jamie has been one of the Premier League’s top scorers in recent years, also playing and scoring for the national team.
The two women are famous in their own right – Coleen Rooney, 36, has 1.2 million followers on Twitter and nearly 925,000 on Instagram – and the defamation case lifts the lid on their glamorous lifestyle, and less-than-flattering aspects like the Rooneys’ wedding. problem.
Ms Vardy said her family had received harassment and threats as a result of Ms Rooney’s public allegations and Judge Steyn agreed it was not in the public interest for Ms Rooney’s disclosures to be made without giving Ms Vardy the opportunity to respond first.
“Several members of the public have responded to the Reveal Post by subjecting Vardy to heinous abuse, including messages wishing him, his family and even him [then unborn] honey, seriously ill,” said Judge Steyn.
“Nothing against Ms Vardy, or any findings in this judgment, provide any justification or reason for subjecting her family, or anyone else involved in this case, to such violence.”
Reuters/ABC
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