My racism trial has tarnished me forever even though I was cleared – I’m still not the same, says Dawn Ward
EX-REAL Housewives star Dawn Ward has revealed the devastating impact her racism court case has had on her life – despite being found not guilty.
The glamorous Wag, 50, walked away from court an innocent woman last year following accusations she racially abused two Jewish men at London Euston station in 2019.
All 12 jurors found in her favour and she was subsequently cleared of two counts of racially aggravated harassment, however, the mum-of-four was still left broken by the ordeal which led to her suffering post traumatic stress and contortions of her face and hands.
Dawn was so drained by the case that she fled the country on her own days in a desperate bid to escape the situation.
In an exclusive interview on behalf of ICE36, she says: “I sort of had enough of the UK. I wanted to go somewhere and have a fresh start. It really affected my health. After the court case all my family were waiting for me and I should be absolutely on top of the world.
“I woke up the next morning and my hands started to twist and my face started to move and I was twitching, the stress of it my body reacted that way.
“I literally did something I’ve never done in all my life. I left everyone there. I got on a plane and went back to Dubai. I told my husband and my kids ‘just give me a week’ and I watched Netflix and started doing my power walking. I just wanted that space. People judge you, there’s only so much I could take. I’m a big character on the show but I’m still a human being and I’m a lot softer than people think.”
To this day, Dawn still feels the need to explain herself to strangers and, in an age of rampant cancel culture, is all too aware of how hard it is to shake the stigma of the trial.
She says: “I still think it has tarnished me forever. I’ll never be the same, hence the reason when I speak, I’m still not myself. I’m really not.
“Google is a big thing. It’s worldwide. I got stopped in America at passport control and I’d been found not guilty by all 12 jurors, but because it’s in the press it’s worldwide and it’s such a shame.
“I really thought when I proved my innocence it would all go away but it didn’t. I don’t think it ever will properly.”
During the interview, an emotional Dawn repeatedly emphasises her opposition to prejudice of any kind.
“If they knew me as a person, I’m the least racist person you will ever meet,” she says. “Not just about racism, about sexuality, about religion, I am the most inclusive person ever and it’s something I’m really against.”
Earlier this year Dawn and former footballer husband Ashley, 52, swapped Cheshire for Dubai, offloading their huge £10m mansion.
The move to the Middle East has reinvigorated Dawn and she is now focused on her luxury interior design business.
However, fans can expect to see her back on telly soon, three years after she quit The Real Housewives of Cheshire.
Not only has she made a secret cameo appearance on a programme airing later this year, she is also in advanced talks for her own family reality show following her move to Dubai.
She says: “The most important thing in my life is my family. Eventually I would like to have a show that showcases the whole extended family and our lives. That’s something I’m in talks with with different people and I have been for some time. I’m just waiting for the right opportunity and then hopefully you’ll be seeing me in the future. It would have happened a lot sooner but the court case… I just stopped everything.”
One person that would feature in the docuseries is Dawn’s son-in-law Riyad Mahrez, the former Manchester City ace who now plays in Saudi Arabia.
The Algerian international has fitted effortlessly into his new club, and Dawn’s daughter Taylor will soon join him out there after finding a suitable house.
Dawn says: “Mum’s been given the task of doing a job in a time no one else can do it. I’ve got my whole team on it at the moment.”
While Taylor, who is mum to 14 month old Mila, had reservations about the upheaval at first, she is now relishing starting a life in Saudi, according to Dawn.
She says: “Taylor was quite upset when he first moved. She’s lived in the same place since the day she was born.
“We’re going to be there most weeks, she can come here. Her friends can visit. She’s sort of got used to the idea and is really looking forward to it now.
“I keep saying to her we’re the equivalent of jumping on a train to London from Cheshire. It’s nothing.”
And in a few years, when Riyad’s playing days are up, she might be even closer to mum, with the footballer keen to set up their forever home in Dubai.
Dawn says: “Once the contract is up there in the next three or four years, if he doesn’t decide to stay there, Riyad has always said he’d like his last home to be in Dubai anyway.”
Earlier this year, Dawn turned 50, celebrating in typically lavish fashion with a huge party.
Though she’s sold her cosmetics brand Skulpt to her former rival Dr Nyla Raja, she has no intentions of stopping treatments as she moves into the second half of her life.
Honest as they come, she reels off all the work she’s had done from boob jobs to veneers, before joking that if she ‘undid all her procedures she’d only be left with her toenails’.
“There’s no way I’m growing old gracefully,” she says. “I will still cling on to youth until the day they put me into a coffin. I’m a big believer in less is more, you have to get the best to do it.
“I think me and Ashley are like fine wine, we get better with age.”