"Saying 'no' is something sudden, but talking to them and saying, 'If you understand the consequences of something, you won't do it. So maybe think about this instead. Think about it, you know, but it could kill you.' So I would try to dissuade them from that type of situation by having a conversation instead of a direct, 'Don't ever do that again,' threats, and so on," he testified. "I didn't raise my children that way. Vanessa didn't either. And we never raised our voices in front of our children, ever."
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard at the European premiere of "The Rum Diary" at London's Odeon Kensington. (Photo: John Phillips/UK Press via Getty Images)
After splitting from Paradis in 2012, Depp began dating Amber Heard. They became engaged on Christmas Eve 2013 and married in 2015.
Their relationship ultimately led to one of the most publicized trials of the 2020s. Depp sued Heard for $50 million after she suggested in a 2018 Washington Post column that he had been abusive toward her. Depp denied ever hitting her, and a jury ultimately sided with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star, awarding him more than $10 million in damages. It was during this trial that many details about Depp's troubled childhood were revealed.
Reflecting on the lawsuit in 2025, Depp told The Sunday Times:
"It's gone too far. I knew I'd have to half-eviscerate myself. Everyone was saying, 'It'll disappear!' But I can't believe it. What's going to disappear? A fiction planted all over the fucking world? No, it won't. If I don't try to represent the truth, it'll be as if I actually committed the acts I'm accused of. And my children will have to live with it. Their children. The children I met in the hospitals. So the night before the trial in Virginia, I wasn't nervous. If you don't have to memorize your lines, if you just tell the truth? Roll the dice."
During numerous court battles involving Depp and Amber Heard, he testified about his struggles with substance abuse, saying he began using drugs "at a very young age, when I didn't have a particularly stable, safe, and secure home." He explained that his early use of drugs and alcohol was "the only way I found to numb the pain."
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Depp now lives a quieter life in England, far from Hollywood. After several turbulent years dominated by his legal battle with Heard, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star is renting a private residence in the Sussex countryside, near the Kent border.
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The estate, which dates back to the 1850s, is hidden behind tall trees, ornate gates, and Gothic statues. It boasts ten bedrooms, a sunken garden, an outdoor amphitheater, fountains, and even two staff cottages, offering the seclusion Depp seems to crave.
The actor is next set to star in Marc Webb's action thriller "Day Drinker" alongside his "On Stranger Tides" co-star Penélope Cruz. He will also portray the iconic role of Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West's "Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol," which is scheduled for release on November 13, 2026. The film stars alongside Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, and Daisy Ridley.
Additionally, in 2025, he spoke with producer Jerry Bruckheimer about a potential return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for a sixth installment, depending on how the script develops.
