Coleen Rooney has reportedly offered a peace deal to Rebekah Vardy to keep their legal battle out of the courts.
Coleen Rooney
The 34-year-old star became embroiled in a huge public scandal in October 2019 when she accused Rebekah, 38, of leaking stories to the media about her.
In the infamous post, Coleen said she posted a string of false stories to Instagram with restricted access to see if they appeared in the media - which she claims they did - and accused “Rebekah Vardy’s account” of being the only one which viewed the posts.
And after the matter was taken to courts, Coleen has now reportedly offered Rebekah a deal which would see them settle their differences out of court, and instead see them both donate to charity.
A source said: “Coleen has tried to settle this on three previous occasions. She’s acutely aware of the ridiculous spectacle this has become at a time when people are dying from COVID.
“As far as she is concerned this has gone too far. The legal costs on both sides are well into six figures.”
According to the source, the deal being proposed by Coleen would see both herself and Rebekah donate money to the NHS frontline workers who are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as covering their own legal costs in a move known as a “drop hands” settlement.
The insider added to The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Coleen and her family owe so much to the NHS. She’d be far happier to see the money they would have spent on lawyers being used in a more positive and productive way.”
Coleen’s settlement request comes after Rebekah won the first stage of their legal battle back in November, when legal teams for the pair headed to court to allow a judge to decide the "natural and ordinary" meaning of Coleen’s Instagram post and set down the parameters for the rest of the trial.
Rebekah’s camp argued the Instagram post directly “pointed the finger” at Rebekah herself, whilst Coleen’s team claimed the star only ever blamed her account.
The judge at the time ruled in favour of Rebekah, as he agreed that the post - which was viewed by millions of people - directly blamed Rebekah for selling the stories.
The court ruling would mean that Coleen must prove that Rebekah herself was responsible for the allegations against her account if she is to defend the libel case brought against her.
If Rebekah does not agree to Coleen’s deal to settle out of court, the pair are due to continue their legal case on February 8.
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