Brittany Higgins has quietly sold her taxpayer-funded French chateau

Just days after announcing her new job, Brittany Higgins has sold her sprawling property near Bordeaux in France after listing it on the market almost a year ago.

Brittany Higgins’ taxpayer-funded French chateau has been sold.

Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz moved into the three-bedroom estate in the tiny town of Lunas, about 100km east of Bordeaux in south-west France, in late-2023 – just after she gave evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.

Months later, they were forced to put the house back on the market to cover legal costs associated with ongoing defamation action launched by her former boss, Linda Reynolds.

Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz moved into the three-bedroom estate in late-2023.

They bought the partially-furnished house for an estimated $600,000 and listed it in September for €420,000 (AU$737,800), before they reduced it to €404,000 (AU$709,700) later that month.

It was then lowered to €367,500 in January, just before the couple moved back to Australia ahead of the birth of their son, Freddie. They were set to make a loss on the sale, but the Euro has since fallen in value.

The property languished on the agent’s books for months, but finally sold this year.

Ms Higgins took to Instagram on Friday night to announce the news and shared snippets of precious memories from the sprawling property in a reel.

“Our quiet little safe haven has officially sold,” she wrote.

“We really thought that this was our forever home. Alas, it was not meant to be.

“I’ll always be sad Freddie never had the chance to spend just one night in his nursery. However, we must persist!

“It’s a bit of an accidental blessing to be back in Aus — starting over surrounded by the love of all our favourite people.”

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz listed the home on a local real estate website.

Inside their French chateau.

With an estimated $700,000 in her pocket, minus taxes, Ms Higgins on Wednesday announced her new job with boutique PR firm Third Hemisphere, where Mr Sharaz also works.

Her job comes despite the fact that she was awarded $2.4m from the Commonwealth for 40 years of lost earning capacity, legal costs, medical expenses, domestic assistance, and $400,000 for “hurt distress and humiliation”.

Her civil suit against the Commonwealth was over the way her rape claims against Lehrmann were handled by her Parliament House bosses in 2019.

The home sold for an estimated $700,000.

They bought the partially-furnished house for an estimated $600,000.

On LinkedIn, Ms Higgins said she was “so excited” to begin her new role, telling followers the company held “values that aligned with my own”.

“To be in a workplace run by a fellow survivor and someone who fundamentally believes in the importance of corporate social responsibility is an absolute delight.”

The couple were forced to put the house back on the market to cover legal costs associated with ongoing defamation action launched by her former boss, Linda Reynolds.

The senator filed claims against Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz over social media posts that she claims ruined her reputation.

Mr Sharaz conceded defeat last year and will have to cover his own legal costs, along with Ms Reynolds’ costs. Ms Higgins hired senior counsel to fight the case for her in WA Supreme Court.

The hearing concluded in September. The judge is yet to deliver a verdict.

Originally published as Brittany Higgins has quietly sold her taxpayer-funded French chateau