Amber Heard May Have Been the Reason Behind Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’ Split

Johnny Depp has been involved in a number of high-profile relationships. There was his three-year engagement to Winona Ryder, his long-term relationship with Vanessa Paradis, and his contentious split from Amber Heard, whom he sued for defamation. Fans believed the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was on the verge of settling down with Paradis, with whom he shares custody of their children, Lily-Rose and Jack. However, by the end of 2011, the actor—who stated that he would rather leave his partner than cheat on them—began dating Heard, with whom he had worked on the film The Rum Diary.

In 1998, while shooting The Ninth Gate in France, Depp and Paradis met for the first time. He stated to the Daily Mail, "It was the Hôtel Costes. She was wearing a dress with an exposed back, and I saw that back and that neck, and then she turned around and I saw those eyes, and—boom! My life as a single man was done." The star of The White Wedding afterward remarked on their "instant" chemistry. She shared, "We were in two different worlds — him in America, me in France — but we had friends in common. We saw each other sometimes over the course of four years. But then, the day we found each other in Paris, we were both in the same world and free, and it was just instant. There was no more time to waste—just no way around it."

The couple's separation was reported in January 2012, and rumors of the split began when Paradis showed up to a film premiere without Depp the same month. Depp first shot off the rumors in May, but he and Paradis confirmed the news the following month. They avoided talking about their relationship for nearly a year. However, behind the scenes, they were able to maintain a positive co-parenting relationship. In 2016, when Depp was facing claims of domestic violence, Paradis came out in support of him. She wrote it all out in a letter: "In all these years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive with me, and this looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years."

Suffice it to say that during the defamation trial between the Jeanne du Barry actor and Heard, Paradis was a vocal supporter of her ex-lover. In the same statement that she issued, Paradis spoke in support of Depp: "I have seen that these outrageous statements have been really distressing, and also caused damage to his career because unfortunately people have gone on believing these false facts."

Depp seemed to confirm his affair with Heard on April 19, 2022, at a hearing with Paradis. Depp testified that he began to feel romantically invested in Heard during the shooting of a passionate shower scene in 2011. "I felt something I shouldn’t have, because at that time she had her partner and I had Vanessa. It all started with that kiss in the shower," Depp said. He claimed that he and Paradis had more than just their on-screen kiss during their time together. While spending the evening together in Depp's dressing room, "we shared a glass of wine and kisses," the actor confessed. Paradis may or may not have known about Depp's kiss with Heard throughout their relationship, but if she did, it would have likely been a major factor in their eventual breakup.