Judge Brian Lewis told her he accepted that but it "did not begin to justify" her actions. He said: "By this time the relationship was over.
"This was a perverted act of revenge."
The judge told the court Mr Maguire did not spend long in custody but would have been "on tenterhooks" – terrified he would be wrongly convicted of very serious offences.
He told Watts: "The real damage is the extent to which your conduct diverts valuable time and resources from real allegations of rape.
"Jurors who come before this court trying genuine, honest allegations of rape find themselves being cynical and disbelieving because they have heard of people like you, who make up these allegations on a whim."
He told Watts there were genuine complainants who "leave court disappointed" because of the decisions made by such juries.
Watts admitted perverting the course of justice when she made the false allegation to police on March 16 last year.
