EXCLUSIVE
Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz have listed their taxpayer-funded French home on a local real estate website, with an asking price of about $685,000.
The newlyweds bought the rustic three-bedroom home in Lunas, in the historic central Dordogne region, last year, about six months after she was awarded a $2.4million compensation payment from the Commonwealth over her alleged rape in 2019.
In December, they left Brisbane Airport dressed head-to-toe in white – apparently a symbol of ‘strength’ and new beginnings – with the intention of permanently relocating to France.
However, their European dream was cut short by the ongoing defamation battle with Ms Higgins’ former boss Linda Reynolds over social media posts the senator claims damaged her reputation.
In July it was revealed the couple would have to sell the house, which they bought for about $600,000, to pay for defamation lawyers – who can charge more than $8,000 for a single day in court.
Daily Mail can now reveal their 1.2-acre property – complete with three bedrooms, a pond and a swimming pool – is up for sale for €420,000 (AU$685,000).
It is understood they are considering a move back to ahead of the birth of their first child.
According to the online listing, the two-storey home features a living room with a wood stove and exposed beams, two bathrooms, a garage and cellar, with traditional large windows overlooking the grounds.
‘A house full of charm on a beautiful plot with a swimming pool and a pond,’ the website said.
The home is packed with 19th century-style furnishings, a marble bust, wooden sculptures, demure portraits, decorative antlers, Chesterfield couches, vases, lamps, and end-tables.
The unique interior décor in the real estate photos appears to match the furnishings in the background of various images on the couple’s Instagram pages.
It is unclear if the furnishings are included in the price.
Ms Higgins was due to return to to give evidence in the WA Supreme Court last week amid her case with Ms Reynolds, but she was excused after mental health reports were tendered.
Her lawyer Rachael Young SC told the court she felt confident they would win the case even without Ms Higgins’ testimony.
Closing statements began this week.
If she loses the case, Ms Higgins would have to cover her own legal fees, along with Ms Reynolds’ fees. The cost of the whole case is worth an estimated $2million.
Mr Sharaz is also being sued by the Liberal senator, but he conceded defeat in April stating he did not have the financial means for the court battle. Costs are yet to be determined, but he will have to cover his fees and Ms Reynolds’ fees.
He has not held a full-time job since he left his media role at Southern Cross Austereo in Brisbane in 2023, shortly after Ms Reynolds announced she was suing him.
Ms Higgins was awarded $2.445million in compensation by the government over the way her 2019 Parliament House rape allegations were handled by her former bosses, Ms Reynolds and Senator Michaelia Cash, and the broader Coalition government.
She accused them of failing to properly support her, but both senators were excluded from legal mediation talks with the Commonwealth.
According to the deed of settlement, she was given $1.48million for loss of earning capacity for 40 years; $400,000 for hurt, distress and humiliation; $220,000 for medical expenses; $100,000 for domestic assistance; and $245,000 for legal costs.
When the matter was settled, Ms Higgins’ rape claims had not been proven in court.
Ms Reynolds has made a complaint to the National Anti-Corruption Commission about the compensation payment.
The rape case has not been proven in the criminal court, but in April, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee – in giving his judgement on an associated civil trial – found that, on the balance of probabilities, her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins.