A photo of Conor McGregor’s fiancée Dee Devlin leaving a courthouse after the UFC superstar lost his his civil sexual assault case in Ireland has gone viral over the weekend.
Devlin accompanied McGregor to court in Dublin on Friday, where her partner was told he must pay the woman who accused him of raping her in a hotel six years ago
McGregor, 36, faced an accusation that he ‘brutally raped and battered’ Nikita Hand, 35, at a hotel in south Dublin in December 2018.
The MMA fighter previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, at the Beacon Hotel. He denied causing bruising to the plaintiff.
McGregor vowed to appeal the decision in a now-deleted X post, saying he was ‘disappointed’ and ‘focused on my future’ with his family after the jury of eight women and four men found him liable of assaulting Ms Hand and awarded her $398,380.86.
When McGregor left the court, Devlin held his hand and faced reporters at this side.
This photo of Conor McGregor’s fiancée Dee Devlin leaving a courthouse has gone viral
Conor McGregor was found liable after being accused of assaulting a woman in Dublin in 2018
A photo of them facing the press has been widely circulated online, but all anybody can focus on is Devlin’s facial expression.
She looks exhausted and emotional, while McGregor looks furious.
‘There is pain and sadness behind her eyes,’ posted one X user.
‘The humiliation on her face is really sad,’ replied another.
‘Imagine embarrassing the mother of your children publicly for years,’ said a third.
‘Why is she doing this to herself,’ replied another.
Devlin is, perhaps, an old hand at dealing with controversies, as it’s not the first scandal that has reared its head during their relationship.
The MMA fighter and Devlin have been together since 2008 and became engaged in 2020, although they are yet to get married.
The MMA fighter and Devlin have been together since 2008 and became engaged in 2020, although they are yet to get married
McGregor, Devlin and three of their four children are pictured together above
Throughout their 16 years together since McGregor met her at a nightclub there have been multiple allegations of sexual assault against the ‘Notorious’ – twice in 2019 in the Irishman’s homeland and once in 2020 in Corsica, France.
McGregor was also accused of attacking a woman on a yacht in Ibiza, Spain, in 2023. He was also accused of raping a woman in the toilet at the NBA Finals in Miami, Florida, last year. McGregor has denied the allegations.
In the case involving Nikita Hand, she alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her on December 9, 2018, and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same, Ireland’s high court heard over two weeks of evidence.
Ms Hand said that she and a friend made contact with McGregor, who she knew, after a work Christmas party.
She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed.
She said McGregor took her a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her.
Devlin and McGregor are pictured above on holiday with their children while Devlin was pregnant with their fourth child
Throughout their 16 years together, since McGregor met her at a nightclub, there have been multiple allegations of sexual assault against the ‘Notorious’
Ms Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, said she was on antidepressants, and ‘full of drugs’ at the time of the alleged assault.
The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was $398,380.86.
Nikita Hand said outside the court that she hoped her case will remind victims of assault to keep ‘pushing forward for justice’, and show her daughter, Freya, ‘that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you no matter who the person is and justice will be served’.
McGregor and Devlin met in Dublin in 2008 when McGregor was just 19, and now live together with their children Conor Jr., seven, Croia Mairead, five, Rian, three and Mack, nearly one, in Las Vegas.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
