Johnny Depp is notoriously private, but the end of his marriage to Amber Heard has been playing out in a very public way since she filed for divorce to end their 15-month union.
“They had a horrible relationship,” a Depp pal reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly.
And it’s just getting uglier.
Four days after the 30-year-old filed for divorce, Heard arrived at Los Angeles Superior Court May 27 bearing what appeared to be a bruised cheek that she alleged came from Depp hurling an iPhone at her face.
Requesting a domestic-violence restraining order, she claimed the man she met while filming 2011’s The Rum Diary “has been verbally and physically abusive” throughout their four-year romance.
The judge granted the restraining order, but Depp’s legal team deemed it unnecessary. According to court documents, his attorney Laura Wasser claimed the actress was using abuse allegations “to secure a premature financial resolution.” Surprisingly, the actor, worth a reported $400 million, and Heard do not have a prenup.
His attorneys aren’t the only ones speaking out on his behalf. Relatives, industry friends and even his exes have come forward to defend the soft-spoken movie star. French actress Vanessa Paradis, who had kids Lily-Rose, 17, and Jack, 14, with Depp during their 14-year romance, wrote a letter calling Heard’s claims “outrageous.”
Depp’s pal, comic Doug Stanhope, meanwhile, wrote an editorial saying Heard’s actions were akin to blackmail. “Anyone who knows him will tell you he is not capable of this,” says one Depp insider in the new issue of Us.
But Heard’s pals label him as a serial abuser. L.A. neighbor Raquel Rose Pennington said in the court filing that Heard confessed to her about Depp’s constant attacks.
The former couple are due back in court on June 17. “He’s going to defend himself, then give her what is ordered,” an insider tells Us.
For more about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s breakup, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
