text: In May 2023, O'Neill pursued a libel action against former DUP councillor John Carson for defamation; this followed a comment he had made on social media in April 2021, and for which he later apologised. In November 2023, the High Court ruled, "no award of damages is payable" as her reputation remained intact. The court recognised the comment was "abusive, highly offensive and misogynistic" but concluded it fell short of being defamatory. Both parties were made responsible for their own legal costs amounting to over £12,000 for each litigant. Judge Bell concluded that it was a minor case, that should never have reached the High Court. Carson was suspended by his party for three months, when the local government commissioner for standards, found 'Mr Carson had breached the code of conduct for councillors' and they imposed a similar sanction.
  Personal life
  O'Neill became pregnant at the age of 16 and gave birth to her daughter at the same age, and has said she was prayed over at school when she became pregnant. She completed her A-level studies at her Catholic grammar school and went on to train as a welfare rights adviser. She married Paddy O'Neill when she was 18 and they have two children together. She separated from her husband in 2014. O'Neill became a grandmother in 2023.
  Electoral history