Coleen Rooney WINS Wagatha Christie court case against Rebekah Vardy

The long-running Wagatha Christie saga between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy was finally put to an end after Mrs Justice Steyn announced her ruling, with Coleen named the victor

Coleen Rooney has come out victorious in the blockbuster Wagatha Christie court case against Rebekah Vardy.

The long-running saga between the two WAGs, who battled it out in the High Court during a seven day trial, was finally put to an end as Mrs Justice Steyn ruled in Coleen's favour.

The decision marked the conclusion to the two-and-a-half year feud, which started in October 2019 when Coleen, 36, said she had carried out a "sting operation" and accused Rebekah's account of leaking "false stories" about her private life to the press in the now viral Instagram post.

The fake stories Rooney planted on her Instagram during the sting operation featured her travelling to Mexico for a "gender selection" procedure, her planning to return to TV, and the basement flooding at her home.

Coleen Rooney broke her cover earlier today, ahead of the Wagatha Christie trial verdict

Image:

( www.SplashNews.com 2022)

Rebekah, 40, has always vehemently denied Coleen's accusations and launched libel proceedings in 2020.

She later admitted in a witness statement her agent Caroline Watt could have leaked the stories in a dramatic U-turn.

Coleen defended the claim on the basis her post was “substantially true”.

In her ruling, Justice Steyn said it was "likely that Rebekah's agent at the time, Caroline Watt, "undertook the direct act" of passing information to The Sun.

Coleen and Wayne attend the Wagatha trial in May

Image:

( Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

But she added: "Nonetheless, the evidence … clearly shows, in my view, that Mrs Vardy knew of and condoned this behaviour, actively engaging in it by directing Ms Watt to the private Instagram account, sending her screenshots of Mrs Rooney’s posts, drawing attention to items of potential interest to the press, and answering additional queries raised by the press via Ms Watt.

During the trial, Coleen's barrister David Sherborne argued that Rebekah had a a “habitual and established practice” of leaking information about those she knew – through Caroline – to The Sun newspaper.

He claimed there were, in text message exchanges between Mrs Vardy and Ms Watt, examples of the pair discussing leaking other people’s private information.

Vardy launched legal action in 2020, claiming Coleen's post had damaged her reputation

Image:

( Wiktor Szymanowicz/REX/Shutterstock)

The judge said in her ruling today: “In my judgment, the conclusions that I have reached as to the extent to which the claimant engaged in disclosing to The Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account which she knew, and Mrs Rooney repeatedly asserted, was private, suffice to show the single meaning is substantially true.”

The case was packed full of designer outfits, Coleen hobbling to court in a plastic boot and some explosive revelations as both sides left no stone of the WAGs' lives unturned.

After hours in the stand during a gruelling and exhaustive cross-examination, Rebekah told the court she felt "bullied and intimidated" before adding: "I didn’t do anything wrong and I wanted to clear my name, and I wanted it not just for me but for my family and my children."

Mrs Justice Steyn found that Rebekah's evidence in the trial was “manifestly inconsistent” with other evidence on “many occasions”.

“It was evident that Mrs Vardy found the process of giving evidence stressful and, at times, distressing. I bear in mind when assessing her evidence the degree of stress she was naturally feeling, given the high-profile nature of the trial, the abuse that she has suffered since the reveal post was published, and the length of time she was in the witness box.”

The judge added: “Nevertheless, I find that it is, unfortunately, necessary to treat Mrs Vardy’s evidence with very considerable caution.

“There were many occasions when her evidence was manifestly inconsistent with the contemporaneous documentary evidence, e.g. in relation to the World Cup 2018 and the photoshopped pictures, and others where she was evasive.”

Mrs Justice Steyn continued: “Mrs Vardy was generally unwilling to make factual concessions, however implausible her evidence.

“This inevitably affects my overall view of her credibility, although I have borne in mind that untruthful evidence may be given to mask guilt or to fortify innocence.”

From marriage troubles in the Rooney household, to Rebekah fearing she would lose her unborn baby after the Wagatha Christie post went public, both rivals poured their hearts out as they took to the stand.

Coleen had said of her marriage after Wayne's drink-driving arrest in 2017: "I was in a vulnerable situation, I didn’t know how my marriage was going to work out, whether I was going on with my relationship."

And the WAG's husband Wayne, who accompanied her every day to the trial, even gave testimony and told Mrs Justice Steyn Coleen had become a "different mother and wife" after her now-famous Wagatha Christie tweet.

Meanwhile, texts between Rebekah and her agent about Coleen were read out in the courtroom, with Coleen calling the messages "evil and uncalled for".

The Liverpudlian mother-of-four said at the time: "She has got no need to talk about me or my Instagram. I wouldn’t even know what Caroline Watt looked like. I have never spoken to her, never met her.

An artist's impression of Rebekah Vardy in court

Image:

( Julia Quenzler / SWNS)

"The messages that went on between them were evil and uncalled for. Speaking about someone they do not know.

"I’m the total opposite to what they describe. I’m not a bad person. The words they use are totally untrue. There’s no need for it because I have never done anything to them for them to monitor and stalk me."

Among the jaw-dropping claims, Rooney's team accused Rebekah of staging a WAG pap shot in St Petersburg at the World Cup 2018, of leaking stories about other celebrities including a mysterious love triangle, a secret love child and Riyad Mahrez missing training.

Rebekah denied the accusations and spoke on the stand about her regrets over her comparing Peter Andre's manhood to a "chipolata" during her 2004 interview with News Of The World.

Rebekah also told the court the devastating affect the post had on her mental health, claimed Coleen's claims lost her a book deal, an endorsement for placenta capsules and an excuse for trolls to target her on social media.

But Coleen told the court she did not realise how huge the story would be, after her October 2019 Instagram post.

An artist impression of Coleen giving evidence in court

Image:

( PA)

"I knew that it would get attention - but I didn't think it would be big,” she said during her testimony.

"I didn't think I would be sitting here today. It was way bigger than I intended.''

Coleen said she uploaded the post as a "last resort".

Coleen and Wayne missed the last day of the trial, when the legal teams gave their closing remarks, as the flew out to Dubai for a family holiday with their four sons.

Coleen later shared sweet snaps of the get away with her 925k followers on Instagram.

Coleen and her family enjoy a day out with dolphins

Image:

( Instagram)

The pictures included a family day out at Atlantis Dolphin Bay where her four sons, Kai, 12, Klay, 9, Kit, 6, and 4-year-old Cass, got to meet a dolphin up close with their mum and dad.

Almost all of the family beamed at the camera with youngest son Cass being more distracted by petting the dolphin in front of him.

In another photo Coleen showed off her toned body and impressive tan in a yellow bikini as she beamed between Kai and Kit on the beach.

Coleen and Wayne pose with Ed Sheeran, who they watched perform this summer

Coleen captured the carousel: "We had the best Family holiday 2022. Dubai you were fantastic #grateful [red heart][smiling face surrounded by hearts]".

After her holiday, the doting mum enjoyed some time chilling out with Ed Sheeran backstage at his concert.

Coleen appeared to be in high spirits as she and her husband Wayne were pictured hanging out with the Shape of You singer.

" Ed Sheeran... class as always. Brilliant concert," she wrote with three clapping hand emojis on Instagram.

Coleen and Wayne were also pictured soaking up the sun in Ibiza and then enjoying watching tennis at Wimbledon.

Over the summer, Rebekah too posted a sweet family snap, as she and Coleen waited for the trial verdict.

Taking to Instagram, the WAG proudly posed with her footballer husband and their brood.

The couple were joined by their daughters Olivia Grace, 18 months, and Sofia, six, who wore matching dresses, while their son Finley, four, looked smart in a cute blue shirt with buses embroidered on.

Rebekah rested her hand on son Taylor, 11, who appeared to follow in his mother's taste in designer fashion as he rocked a Givenchy T-shirt.

Jamie Vardy accompanied wife Rebekah to the trial for one day

Image:

( Reuters)

The WAG has son Taylor and daughter Megan, 17, who was not pictured in the photo, from previous relationships, while Jamie is also dad to Ella, 11.

Rebekah simply captioned the photo with a smiling face surrounded by love hearts.

It seems that Rebekah, like Coleen, has been soaking up the sun, as she posted a picture of an idyllic beach, with palm trees and clear blue water, on her Instagram.

She captioned the picture with an emoji of a tropical island, and a cocktail.

Later Rebekah and her family travelled to Portugal for a holiday, but headed back before the Wagatha ruling.

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