Depp‘dates his lawyer’
Pirates actor is enjoying ‘real deal’ with Brit pal
JOHNNY Depp is dating a lawyer who represented him in his UK libel lawsuit, it is being claimed.
Joelle Rich, 38, was in court for the actor’s battle against a newspaper that began in 2020.
But a New York celebrity magazine alleges that since they stopped working together on the case their relationship has turned to romance and they have become an item in recent months.
One source has said: “Their chemistry is off the charts. It’s serious between them. They are the real deal.”
US Weekly broke the story but respected website TMZ has also now reported the romance.
Rich was one of the lawyers who worked on Depp’s case after he sued for libel in 2018. She was not part of the team who successfully represented him in his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, earlier this year.
Yet she was in the courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia, in May to show her “support” for the star.
The source, claiming the pair met “discreetly” in hotels during the early stages of their romance, added: “There was no professional obligation for her being there. It was personal.”
London-based Joelle is a mother of two understood to be separated from her husband for some time and in the process of getting divorced.
ROMANCE
Depp, 59, sparked rumours this summer of a romance with another attorney, Camille Vasquez, who represented him in his US defamation trial against Heard. But Vasquez reacted with fury to the allegations.
She said in June: “I care very deeply about my clients, and we have obviously become close. But when I say ‘we’ I mean the entire team. And, of course, that includes Johnny.” Vasquez noted that the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor had been her friend and client for four and a half years.
She added: “It’s also an unethical charge being made. It’s sexist. It’s unfortunate. And it’s disappointing. But at the same time, it kind of comes with the territory. I can’t say I was that surprised.”
Depp has previously been in relationships with Winona Ryder, Kate Moss, and Vanessa Paradis.
He then struck up a relationship with Heard soon after meeting her on the set of the 2011 movie The Rum Diary.
The pair married in 2015 but separated a little bit over a year later before officially divorcing in 2017.
Since then, they have been at war and had courtroom battles that have exposed a volatile relationship.
Representatives for Johnny Depp were given the opportunity to comment last night.
Chemistry is off the charts, it is serious with them MAGAZINE SOURCE SPEAKS TO US WEEKLY