Johnny Depp stopped being a single man when he met and fell in love with Vanessa Paradis. However, he wasnt destined to make her his wife and instead started dating someone else in secret before they separated.
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By 1998, Johnny Depp had gotten his wild and single days out of his system. He became a changed man when he was invited to France to film Roman Polanskis “The Ninth Gate,” but the movie wasnt what impacted him.
Instead, Depp recalled how he saw a woman in France who attracted him from the get-go. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star shared a nostalgic memory that occurred while at the Hotel Costes.
Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the “Mont Blanc” 100th Anniversary Party on April 5, 2006. | Source: Getty Images
The actor shared, “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!” Depp added:
“My life as a single man was done.”
He explained how he had a feeling he couldnt define, but it was what he felt when he met the woman who would be his girlfriend. The star had seen her across the room and wondered what was happening to him.
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Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the Los Angeles premiere of “Sleepy Hollow” on November 17, 1999. | Source: Getty Images
The woman whod caught his eye was Vanessa Paradis. She was a model, a French singer, an actress, and a friend of Depps pal that hed arranged to meet for a drink.
That same year, Paradis and Depp became a couple. The actress later spoke to The Times about how she and Depp had shared immediate chemistry and connection before even meeting, stating:
“The thing is, I loved him before I was with him, but we had met.”
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The model recalled their first meeting and when he shook her hand. Paradis felt he was the one instantaneously and that he not only looked good but everything about him was good, adding:
“He was so sweet, so different. He just seemed like a good person. I just knew… there was no one better.”
THE REASON WHY JOHNNY AND VANNESA NEVER MARRIED
Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis with their two children on a picnic in a London Park on July 14, 2002. | Source: Getty Images
Depp and Paradis never tied the knot and seemed to have a healthy and happy family life regardless. In 2010, Depp opened up to Extra about why they never married, saying, “[I] never found myself needing that piece of paper.”
The star explained that he felt marriage was a heart-to-heart and soul-to-soul thing for him. Therefore he didnt need someone from the outside to tell them they were married.
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Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 25, 2004. | Source: Getty Images
In a previous 2011 interview, Paradis revealed that she shared Depps sentiments about marriage. She confessed that a wedding was romantic and the reception was fun, but “its a bit like the idea of a soulmate: I cant picture it for me.”
The singer shared how she knew many married people who tore each other apart in their unions. She explained how ceremonies didnt matter to her because all she needed was love.
Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 16, 2006, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images
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By 2011, Paradis and Depp had been together for 13 years! The couple had two children, and during a previous Daily Mail interview, the “Edward Scissorhands” star said their children were healthy, happy, and appeared to be on the right life paths.
He described his girlfriend as loving, supportive, and talented. The star noted how theyd been together for almost 14 years but that it seemed like theyd only met the day before, then explained what made him happy about their relationship.
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Depp said his favorite thing with his girlfriend was to have a glass or two of wine before dinner while watching the sunset, with the children playing close by. The actor described such a moment as “perfection.”
Sadly, that perfection wasnt meant to last as the pair separated by June 2012. Depps publicist revealed the former couple was “amicably” choosing to go their separate ways after the actor had met Amber Heard in 2011 on “The Rum Diarys” set.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp at the “The Rum Diary” New York premiere on October 25, 2011. | Source: Getty Images
Before the couples relationship ended, Paradis confessed how she could make endless lists of why she admired Depp. She said they understood that if they wanted their relationship to progress, they needed to give each other space.
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The actress noted how they had to allow one another to go away on their own and keep the trust. According to a People magazine source, the former couple started drifting into living separate lives after moving to Los Angeles from France.
DEPP AND PARADIS CHILDREN
Lily-Rose Depp at the screening of “The King” during the 76th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2019, in Venice, Italy. | Source: Getty Images
During their relationship, Paradis and Depp welcomed daughter Lily-Rose Melody and son John “Jack” Christopher Depp. Lily-Rose was born on May 27, 1999, while Jack joined the family on April 9, 2002.
Depps daughter followed in her parents footsteps by becoming a famous actress and model. In 2014, she appeared alongside him in the film “Tusk” before reprising her role in the 2016 spinoff “Yoga Hosers.”
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In a 2000 French Elle magazine interview, the “Lost in La Mancha” actor revealed that he wanted his children to learn about American and French cultures. He said French would be his childrens native language but that it was important they could speak English too.
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Depp also wanted his children to know his native country but didnt want them to grow up in it. He felt America was too greedy, nuts, and “too much everything” while living with his family in France.
JOHNNYS SECRET RELATIONSHIP WITH AMBER
Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Jack and Lily-Rose Depp at Narita International Airport on July 18, 2013, in Narita, Japan. | Source: Getty Images
Heard once revealed that she fell in love with Depp during their 2011 press tour for “The Rum Diaries.” The duo was “secretly dating” before Depp and Paradis went public about their separation.
Heard said, “We were in a bubble of secrecy.” Even though both Depp and the actress had been in serious relationships at the time, that allegedly didnt stop him from sending her numerous gifts.
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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard at the 8th Annual Heaven Gala on January 10, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Heard and Depp eventually reconnected about two years later for another press tour. By then, both stars had broken up with their previous partners and progressed into a relationship.
They were so in love that Depp did something hed previously advocated against – marriage. The couple got engaged in 2014 before tying the knot the following year.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp at The Art of Elysium Heaven Gala on January 9, 2016, in Culver City, California. | Source: Getty Images
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However, as fast as the couple had come together, their marriage fell messily apart. Within 15 months, Heard had filed for divorce and gotten a restraining order against her ex-husband.
She claimed hed been physically and verbally abusive throughout their relationship. At one point, the police were called over to Depp and Heards apartment at the actress request.
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Amber Heard testifies against Johnny Depp at Fairfax County Circuit Court during a defamation case against her in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 4, 2022. | Source: Getty Images
Depp wasnt pleased with his ex-wifes allegations and refuted them. However, he was more worried about Jack, 14 at the time, because he imagined it wasnt easy for Jack while he had to go to school with the drama happening around him.
From her [Vannesa Paradis] personal experience and many years of knowing him [Johnny Depp], the actress insisted that hed never been abusive to her. Advertisement
The actor worried the little boy would be confronted by his schoolmates with magazines that said Depp beat up women. The star felt his son and daughter didnt deserve to go through all that.
VANESSA STOOD UP FOR JOHNNY FROM AMBERS ACCUSATIONS
Vanessa Paradis and Lily-Rose Depp at the Chanel Haute Couture Fall Winter 2018/2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 3, 2018, in Paris, France. | Source: Getty Images
One person who stood with Depp during his defamation lawsuit against Heard was Paradis. The case came up after Heard wrote a 2019 op-ed for The Washington Post characterizing herself as a victim of domestic abuse.
Paradis sent in a declaration on behalf of her ex-boyfriend, explaining how shed known him for over 25 years and been with him romantically for 14. She shared how theyd raised two children together.
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Lily-Rose Depp and Vanessa Paradis at the Chanel Cruise Collection on May 3, 2019, in Paris, France. | Source: Getty Images
The singer claimed throughout those years, Depp had been generous, kind, attentive, and a “non-violent person and father.” She said she was aware of Heards public allegations that had gone on for over four years.
Paradis shared how there was “nothing like the true Johnny” shed known. From her personal experience and many years of knowing him, the actress insisted that hed never been abusive to her.
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