When Alexandra Ivkovic called triple zero and said her fiance, NRL player Dylan Walker, had pulled her hair causing her to fall as she held a baby, she told the operator she was "scared".
Police footage recorded later that day in December 2018 shows her again stating the Manly player pulled her hair as she held the baby on the driveway of their northern Sydney home.
But that night she changed her story and steadfastly stuck to it, saying she'd overreacted and Walker had simply touched her shoulder to turn her around, accidentally grabbing her hair in the process.
It was a fact magistrate Michelle Goodwin could not look past on Friday, when she dismissed the charges of domestic violence-related assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault in Manly Local Court.
Prosecutor Senior Sergeant Craig Pullen, in his closing submissions, said the court should rely on Ms Ivkovic's original story because she had financial reasons to recant her statement - namely that her partner would lose his NRL contract.
But Ms Goodwin said Ms Ivkovic's unwavering commitment to the new version of events under "stringent cross-examination" couldn't be ignored.
Walker too, she said, did not falter in recounting this version.
"I just reached out with my left hand to touch her shoulder, just turning her towards me," he told the court on Friday. "Then she fell, fell onto the ground."
The court heard evidence from Ms Ivkovic's mother, Walker's manager Wayne Beavis and a social worker who said the former Miss Universe Australia contestant had said that when she calmed down, she realised Walker hadn't grabbed her hair.
"I simply could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of Mr Walker," the magistrate said.
"Simply based on the evidence before me, on Ms Ivkovic immediately retracting her statement, her discussions with her family and friends immediately afterwards ... her evidence in court, I find Mr Walker not guilty."
Dee Why neighbour Lauren O'Sullivan previously gave evidence she witnessed Walker pull his fiancee's ponytail "very hard", causing her to fall.
Walker on Friday denied swearing at Ms O'Sullivan but admitted he swore at her husband who called out that the police had been phoned. Walker told him to "mind your own business you f***head".
Ms Goodwin noted Ms O'Sullivan and her husband were honest people but "even honest people make mistakes".
The magistrate was impressed by the social worker, who testified that in her professional opinion Ms Ivkovic had not recanted her original story due to being caught in a cycle of domestic violence.
The court on Friday heard the fight between Walker and his fiancee broke out after Ms Ivkovic asked if he'd like a spoon or a fork to eat dinner while he was playing his PlayStation.
The NRL on Friday said it had lifted Walker's suspension following the verdicts, meaning he's likely to return to the field next weekend.
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