2 days ago
Rebekah Vardy boards private jet to friend's lavish French wedding after putting huge £9.7m Portuguese villa on the market amid £4m bill for Wagatha Christie trial
Rebekah Vardy has jetted off to France in style for her friend's lavish wedding - as she foots the £4m costs bill for her ill-fated Wagatha Christie libel case.
The WAG, 43, and her husband Jamie, 38, are selling their Portuguese abode for an 'optimistic' £9.7million following the trial.
Last month, Rebekah was ordered by a judge to pay £1.27m towards rival Coleen Rooney 's legal expenses, on top of her own bill, reported to be more than £2million, from the disastrous libel claim she brought in 2022.
But it looks like Rebekah put her money woes behind her as she travelled to Europe for her pal Rebecca Naylor's wedding in a private jet.
Taking to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, the WAG shared a snap inside the aircraft of the window, as she penned: 'En route @rebeccanaylor14.'
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Last month, the WAG, 43, was ordered by a judge to pay £1.4m towards rival Coleen Rooney 's legal expenses, on top of her own bill, reported to be more than £2million, from the disastrous libel claim she brought in 2022
Bride-to-be Rebecca, who is set to marry Leicester City star Danny Ward, also shared a snap to her Instagram Stories with other wedding attendees stood outside the jet.
While it's not known how long Rebekah and Rebecca have been friends, it's clear they both run in the same circles due to their sportsman partners.
Rebecca's Instagram feed is full of glamorous photos from her exotic travels over the years with Danny - from the Seychelles to Dubai.
On his 26th birthday, Rebecca lovingly referred to her partner as her 'world' - just months before they became parents for the first time.
Sharing a gushing post on Danny's special day in 2019, Rebecca wrote: 'Happy 26th birthday to my world! Hope you have the most amazing day!
'We're so lucky to spend your birthday in such beautiful places! I love you always.'
Danny, 31, who also plays for Wales, has been with Rebecca for nearly a decade.
They welcomed son Albie together in November 2019, and the family all watched Danny play in Doha in November 2022.
During this time, she had more reason than most to be displeased with her time in Qatar - after Gareth Southgate's men put three goals past her partner.
She had shown off her lavish trip on the £1billion MSC World Europa luxury cruise ship, where the majority of England's WAGs and the Welsh WAGs had been staying for the tournament.
Rebecca lamented: 'When you should done the ten days here and not there.'
The cruise ship was home to England WAGs including Georgina Irwin, who is married to goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and Phil Foden's girlfriend Rebecca Cooke.
Jack Grealish's partner Sasha Attwood, and Harry Maguire's wife Fern, were also known to be onboard.
Rebecca and Danny also share a daughter, whom they welcomed in April 2023 called Ayla.
It comes after the Wagatha Christie trial left Rebekah's reputation 'in tatters' and had a similar effect on her 'brand' with potential advertisers.
Rebekah unsuccessfully sued the I'm A Celeb star in the High Court in 2022 after she was publicly accused of leaking stories about her to the press.
The catalyst for the famous Wagatha Christie case was a dramatic open letter written by Coleen and posted on social media in October 2019 in which she revealed she had turned detective to figure out who had been leaking the stories to the press.
During this time, she had more reason than most to be displeased with her time in Qatar - after Gareth Southgate's men put three goals past her partner. The beauty posted a video online which started at luxury hotel accommodation before panning over to the £1billion MSC World Europa luxury cruise ship
Coleen publicly claimed Rebekah's account was the source behind three newspaper 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.
Though Jamie has continued to be one of the Premier League's big earners, pulling in an estimated £7.3m at Leicester City last season, and now linked to a possible transfer to Manchester United, there's no doubt the family finances took a massive blow from the Wagatha scandal and its aftermath.
In recent years, the couple rented out their beloved villa on the exclusive golf resort of Quinta do Lago for up to £30,000 a week, but now they've reluctantly decided to put it up for sale.
The property has been listed for sale with blue chip agents Knight Frank, with an incredible £9.7million price tag.
Though prices have risen strongly in the Algarve recently, by as much as 16 per cent, according to some estimates, the Vardys' villa is definitely priced on the 'optimistic side', according to one agent speaking to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity.
'It's certainly a stunning and very modern property, but there are many more traditionally-styled places in that area which some people might prefer, of similar size, but priced a lot more competitively,' he said.
The villa, which has three pools, a gym, steam room and six bedrooms and overlooks the 18th green of the resort's North course.
According to Knight Frank, 'this magnificent property, built over four levels, showcases meticulous attention to lifestyle details.'
Other features in the four-storey home include a cinema room, roof terrace and sauna, on a plot of around 0.64 acres.
The particulars add: 'In addition to the three external pools, which epitomize a contemporary lifestyle, the villa includes a central electro-chromic glass lift accessing each floor.
'The impressively landscaped gardens complement the property's style, creating a true haven for modern living.
'The villa is conveniently located within walking distance of the golf course and other renowned amenities within the Quinta do Lago resort.'
In 2022, the couple had a scare when the luxury villa looked like it could be damaged by forest fires.
A source close to the family told the Sun at the time: 'It's been horrifying. Their neighbours have all been evacuated and one by one residents are being told to leave their homes.
'Becky can see smoke everywhere and she's terrified about the kids breathing it in. The water is also down so she's relying on bottled water which, obviously, there is only a finite amount of at home.
'Jamie and their friends and family back home have all been really worried. Things are developing by the hour but she's praying the fire brigades, who have been brilliant, can get things back under control.'
In June 2020, Rebekah began legal proceedings against Coleen for libel with her lawyers alleging she had 'suffered extreme distress, hurt, anxiety and embarrassment as a result of the publication of Coleen's post and the events which followed'.
At the first preliminary hearing in London's High Court in November the same year, Mr Justice Warby ruled that Coleen's famous letter 'clearly identified' Rebekah as being 'guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust'.
He concluded the 'natural and ordinary' meaning of the posts was that Rebekah had 'regularly and frequently abused her status as a trusted follower of Mrs Rooney's personal Instagram account' by secretly informing the press of Coleen's 'private posts and stories'.
When the case returned to the courts in February 2022, a series of explosive messages between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt were revealed with Coleen's lawyers alleging they were about her.
Rebekah denied that one message calling someone a 'nasty b****' was in reference to Coleen.
When asked by defence lawyers to present Ms Watt's phone so they could further investigate the WhatsApp messages, they were told it had fallen into the North Sea when Ms Watt was on a boat during a holiday.
Coleen was denied permission to bring a High Court claim against Ms Watt for misuse of private information to be heard alongside the libel battle as it was brought too late.
Ms Watt was then dubbed not fit to give oral evidence, revoked permission for her witness statement to be used and withdrew her waiver which would have allowed journalists to say whether she was a source of the leaked stories.
Coleen's barrister then told the High Court Rebekah 'appears to accept' her agent was the source of the leaked stories and argued her new statement suggested this but Rebekah claimed she 'did not authorise or condone her'.
In May 2022, the women finally came face-to-face in court to give evidence as the Wagatha Christie trial began in the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Coleen secured her victory the next month when Mrs Justice Steyn delivered her damning verdict, dismissing the claim made by Rebekah and finding Coleen had proved the meaning of her famous accusatory letter was 'substantially true'.
Rebekah was accused in court – which she denied - of deliberately deleting WhatsApp messages central to the case as it was suggested her agent also intentionally dropped her phone in the North Sea.
The final judgement said swathes of Rebekah's evidence given under oath had been 'manifestly inconsistent', 'not credible' and needed to be treated with 'very considerable caution'.
The judge ruled that Rebekah should pay 90 per cent of Coleen's costs.
