text: Shelly Sterling has spoken out about her legal victory over her husband's alleged mistress V. Stiviano, saying she took the much-younger woman to court 'for justice'. The billionaire wife of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling said she felt vindicated by the judge's ruling this week that Stiviano, 32, must return $2.6 million in sugar daddy gifts. Donald Sterling, 80, had lavished his alleged girlfriend with gifts including a $1.8 million house, luxury cars and stocks - all while hiding them from his wife of six decades. But Shelly insisted on Wednesday she didn't take them to court over the money. Scroll down for video . Vindicated: Shelly Sterling, pictured at a Clippers game last month, will receive $2.6 million from a woman her husband Donald showered with gifts. Shelly has said she took the woman to court 'for justice' 'I did it for justice,' she said. 'I think when somebody harms you in so many ways, justice has to prevail.' Shelly Sterling said she would donate the proceeds to charity. Despite acknowledging marital problems, she also said she and her husband never separated. She said she drafted divorce papers last year, but never filed them. The couple testified at trial last month in Los Angeles Superior Court about their love for each other, displaying cards they had exchanged. Still, Donald Sterling is suing his wife and the NBA over the $2 billion sale of the team. A year ago, a recording of Donald Sterling telling Stiviano not to associate with black people led the NBA to ban him for life and fine him $2.5 million. His wife then negotiated a deal to sell the team with ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer after doctors found Donald Sterling incompetent to handle his business affairs. Together: Donald Sterling is pictured with V. Stiviano in 2011 as they watch the Clippers play. He lost the team last year after a recording emerged in which he told Stiviano not to be seen with black people . Shelly added on Wednesday that she mourns the loss of the team. 'It was a horrible thing to go through,' she said. 'They were like my family. To this day I still feel very bad about it.' Her husband's lawyer on Wednesday criticized her lawsuit as a 'pet project' that had extended Stiviano's time in the spotlight. 'The sums spent by Shelly Sterling in pursuing this matter likely exceeds any amount that will be recovered,' attorney Bobby Samini said. 'We remain perplexed that so much time, energy and money have been allocated to litigating with Ms. Stiviano.' Shelly Sterling's attorney scoffed at that statement. 'What do you expect from the lawyer for a husband who was caught red-handed gifting his mistress with millions of dollars of family money,' Pierce O'Donnell said. In court: Stiviano, pictured heading to court last month, accepted gifts worth $2.6 million from the older man and has now been ordered to hand them back over. The exact nature of their relationship was never clear . Shelly Sterling had filed the suit against Stiviano a month before the recording of her husband telling Stiviano not to associate with black people created an uproar and led the NBA to ban him for life. In court, Shelly Sterling's lawyers used other recordings from Stivian's iPhone to show he bought his alleged mistress a house, a Ferrari and other things. Stiviano and the 80-year-old billionaire were heard discussing how to shield gifts from his wife. 'The truth is that everything that I have, you've given me from your heart without me begging or asking or throwing myself all over you,' Stiviano said in snippet played in court. During the course of their two and a half years together, Sterling gave her a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Range Rover, and paid the lion's share of a $1.8 million duplex. Sterling testified that he paid for the house, though Stiviano said she had contributed an unknown amount of money given to her in small bills by family members that she saved in a bedroom drawer. But Judge Richard Fruin Jr. said this claim was 'not believable' and he relied instead on a recording in which she told Donald Sterling: 'I want Shelly to know you bought me the house.' Still smiling: Stiviano, pictured showing off her new braces, was seen out in Los Angeles earlier this month . He ruled earlier this week that Stiviano must now turn over the keys to the $1.8 million house and pay Shelly Sterling some $800,000 that her husband showered on the younger woman in gifts. It was Stiviano who recorded the now-infamous conversation with Sterling in which he berated her for associating with black people and urged her not to bring minorities with her to Clippers games. In the subsequent furor, the NBA banned Sterling from the league for life, and he was ultimately forced to sell the Clippers franchise he had owned for 33 years for a record $2 billion. The recording was leaked weeks after Shelly Sterling sued Stiviano, alleging she was her husband's mistress but the exact nature of their relationship was never clear. Stiviano called him a lover and father figure but said they never had sex. Donald Sterling called her an 'ex-friend' on the witness stand, though he said in recordings that he loved her and wanted to give her everything.
target: A Los Angeles judge ruled this week that V. Stiviano must return $2.6 million in gifts she was given by former Clippers owner Donald Sterling .
  Shelly Sterling said on Wednesday that she feels vindicated by the win and will be giving the money to charity .
  She said that she and Sterling never split and, even though she drew up divorce papers last year, she never filed them .
  The ruling came a year after the NBA banned Sterling for life over a recording of him telling Stiviano not to associate with black people .