On Friday, a high court judge ruled against Mrs Vardy, husband of Leicester and ex-England footballer Jamie, saying it was “likely that Mrs Vardy’s agent at the time, Caroline Watt, ‘took immediate action’” of her passing on information to the Sun newspaper. In a viral social media post in October 2019, Ms Rooney, 36, said she had run a months-long “sting operation” and accused Ms Vardy, 40, of leaking “false stories” about her private life to Press. Mrs Rooney, wife of former Manchester United and England footballer Wayne, publicly claimed Vardy’s account was the source behind three stories that appeared in The Sun newspaper with false information she had posted on her private Instagram stories. Ms Vardy denied leaking stories to the media and sued her fellow footballer’s wife for defamation, while Ms Rooney defended the claim on the basis that her post was “substantially true”. In her 76-page judgment, Ms Justice Steyn said Ms Vardy’s evidence was “manifestly inconsistent” with contemporary documentary evidence in “many instances”. He added: “I find it is, unfortunately, necessary to treat Mrs Vardy’s evidence with great caution.” Ms Vardy said she was “devastated” by the decision saying the judge “got it wrong”. According to a report, he now faces a legal bill of up to £3 million. Ms Rooney’s lawyer confirmed on Saturday that his client did not want any compensation and was just “glad” the case was over so she could “move on with her life”. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Paul Lunt said: “He didn’t want any of this to happen. She wants no compensation, no retribution, she never wanted any of that, she just wanted the invasion of her privacy to stop, and that was her only goal and her only focus. “He has no other goal. Certainly, he has no need for compensation or claims or anything like that. She’s just happy it’s over and she can get on with her life.” In a statement on Friday, Ms Vardy said of the judge’s decision: “It is not the result I expected, nor did I think it was fair. I brought this lawsuit to vindicate my reputation and I am devastated by the judge’s finding. “The judge accepted that publishing Coleen’s post was not in the ‘public interest’ and also rejected her claim that I was the ‘Secret Wag’. But in terms of the rest of her judgement, she was wrong and that’s something I can’t accept.” The TV personality reiterated that she and her family were subjected to “stupid abuse” after the viral post and during the trial. “Please the people who abused me and my family can stop now. The case is over,” he added. During the trial, the two women each gave evidence, as did Mr Rooney, also 36, who played for Everton and Manchester United as well as England. Ms Justice Steyn found it was “likely” that Ms Vardy deliberately deleted her WhatsApp conversation with Ms Watt and that Ms Watt deliberately dropped her phone in the North Sea shortly after the order to search. Ms Vardy also chose not to call Ms Watt to testify in part because she knew the agent’s evidence “would prove untrue”, the judge ruled. Ms Justice Steyn said in her judgment: “In my judgment, the conclusions I reached as to the extent to which the claimant disclosed to the Sun information to which she only had access as a permitted follower of an Instagram account of which she was aware, and Mrs. Rooney repeatedly asserted, that it was private, it is sufficient to show that the only meaning is substantially true.’
