Johnny & Amber’s DIVORCE FROM HELL
It’s one of the nastiest divorces in Hollywood history as Amber Heard goes after Johnny Depp — and his millions
The scene she paints is a chilling one. In court documents, Amber Heard claims that on May 21, after a month apart, her husband, Johnny Depp, returned to their downtown LA penthouse “inebriated and high.” But after sitting down to talk about the death of his beloved mother, who’d died one day earlier, “his demeanor changed dramatically.” Johnny grew angry, Amber alleges, “and he wound up his arm like a baseball pitcher and threw [a] cellphone at me, striking my cheek and eye with great force.” Then, after pulling her hair and taunting her, she says, Johnny picked up a magnum-size bottle of wine from which he’d been drinking and “started swinging it around, smashing everything he could.”
That shocking imagery is just the tip of the iceberg. In Touch has learned exclusive details of the toxic marriage — and explosive divorce — of Amber, 30, and Johnny, 52, and it’s worse than anyone knows. The A-list duo lived in a house of horrors plagued by violent fights and hard partying. “Both Johnny and Amber were doing cocaine during their marriage,” a Johnny insider exclusively tells In Touch. “But Amber was, by far, more into coke than Johnny. She has a bad drug problem. They’d both do coke and she’d hit him over and over again. The marriage was a mess.” The surprise split quickly turned into one of the ugliest in Hollywood history, with allegations of abuse, blackmail and secret videos flying back and forth while Amber sets her sights on Johnny’s $400M fortune since they didn’t have a prenup. “She’s going after his money. If that leaves him broke, that’s on him,” says an insider close to the actress. “Johnny earned a lot during their marriage. His deal for Alice Through the Looking Glass paid him over $60 million. Why should Amber walk away from that? Johnny has a lot to lose — including his reputation.”
The restraining order Amber sought four days after she filed for divorce is full of horrifying claims about the former heartthrob. But sources close to Johnny contradict Amber’s account of what happened throughout their tumultuous marriage. “Johnny never hit her,” insists one Johnny insider. “In fact, she went crazy on him. She beat the s--- out of him. Even the night she claimed he beat her or threw something at her, she was screaming, ‘Stop hitting me,’ and his security guard was right there and saw that Johnny was 20 feet away from Amber while she was screaming that. That’s how manipulative she is. She is going to be proven to be a total liar before this is over. She’s the biggest liar ever.”
In a stunning twist, Johnny’s friend, comic Doug Stanhope, says the actor was being blackmailed by Amber. Stanhope calls the actress a “demon” who manipulated Johnny for years. “Bingo [Stanhope’s girlfriend] and I were at Johnny’s house for most of that Saturday until just before the alleged assault. We assumed initially that his dour mood was because of his mother’s death the day before. But he opened up in the most vulnerable of ways that it was not only his mother, but that Amber was now going to leave him, threatening to lie about him publicly in any and every possible duplicitous way if he didn’t agree to her terms. Blackmail is what I would imagine other people might [call] it … Johnny doesn’t abuse anyone. And he told me that day ahead of time that she’d pull some kind of s--- like this.”
The bombshells keep coming. Amber has accused Johnny of being both verbally and physically abusive “during the entirety of our relationship,” saying, “I truly feared that my life was in danger.” But the Johnny insider says that before it’s all over, Johnny’s side will prove that Amber faked the injuries she
claims he inflicted on her. In addition, the insider exclusively tells In Touch that emails will surface regarding Amber’s legal problems overseas; she was charged with smuggling their dogs into Australia in May 2015 but avoided jail after apologizing, with help from Johnny, in a video that went viral. “Everyone will see what she did,” the Johnny insider says. “There are emails that are very damning against Amber. Her violence against Johnny will be exposed as well.”
Amber has her own secret weapon, according to a source close to her: “She is
in possession of a videotape of Johnny having an epic meltdown. If this video were to be released, it would ruin his career.”
Amber declined to file a police report after cops responded to a 911 call made by a friend on May 21. She didn’t tell the cops who came to her home that Johnny smashed her face with an iphone. She said she’d had a simple argument with “my husband,” and LA police have revealed that responding officers saw “no evidence of any crime.” In addition, a photo of Amber — who was smiling as strands of hair partially covered her right eye and cheek — that was taken at pal Amanda de Cadenet’s birthday barbecue the day after the altercation with Johnny was deleted from Instagram in the wake of her attack allegations.
At least three of his exes have come to Johnny’s defense. First wife Lori Anne Allison, 58, reportedly told friends she doesn’t think Johnny’s capable of that kind of brutality. Former partner Vanessa Paradis, 43, the mother of his kids, Lily-rose, 17, and Jack, 14, penned a note branding Amber’s claims “outrageous” (see sidebar). And on May 29, Johnny’s ex-girlfriend Sherilyn Fenn, 51, exclusively told In Touch that “Johnny was not ever abusive to me in any way. He was deeply sensitive, loving and kind. Only maybe abusive to himself as we all can be from time to time. But never to me. Or anyone,” she explained, adding, “If he did it, he needs some help. If she is lying, in any way, then she does.”
Reports have emerged that Johnny feared Amber, who’s openly bisexual, had been having a lesbian affair. But that’s not what caused the split, says the Johnny insider, who insists, “Johnny found out something horrible Amber had done in the marriage and that triggered the breakup.” Still, jealousy did haunt the couple for years. “Amber’s [previous] romantic involvement with women was always a very sensitive issue with Johnny,” explains the source close to Amber. “He’d openly get angry at Amber if he thought she was flirting with other women. They’d fight, resulting in John- ny checking into the Chateau Marmont [in LA] where he wouldn’t leave his bungalow for days. Eventually, she’d show up, there would be a lot of yelling and then it would settle down.”
Johnny and Amber’s relationship has always been intense. After co-starring with Amber in 2011’s The Rum Diary, Johnny broke up with Vanessa. Amber split from her photographer girlfriend Tasya Van Ree, 40, and they moved in together in 2012. They married in LA on Feb. 3, 2015, and later held a celebration on his private island, Little Hall’s Pond Cay, in the Bahamas. (The 45-acre island could become part of the divorce settlement.) “It has been a very unhealthy, volatile relationship from the very beginning,” says the source close to Amber. “Johnny became absolutely obsessed with Amber — she made him feel very young and hot.”
But their marriage started to break down not long after their fairy-tale wedding. “They were barely talking,” says a Johnny and Amber insider. “Their work schedules were hectic and they were bickering.” Adds the Amber insider, “Amber told friends she was doing everything possible to save the relationship and had gone to a marriage counselor, which absolutely infuriated Johnny, who’s notoriously reclusive.” Adds a friend of Amber’s: “She loved the idea of being married to Johnny, but the novelty wore off fast. Amber would tell her friends that Johnny smokes so many cigarettes that brown nicotine drips from his teeth. She didn’t want to even kiss him. And when he’d drink and smoke, he’d go into his own world and pay no attention to her.”
A judge will hear new arguments concerning Amber’s restraining order against Johnny on June 17. Meanwhile, Amber’s been meeting with her legal team in LA and spending time with friends while Johnny’s been doing charity work and performing with his band, Hollywood Vampires, in Europe. But sources predict things will get even worse as Amber makes a play for his fortune. “One thing’s for certain: Johnny and Amber had one of the most twisted marriages you could ever imagine,” says the Amber insider. “No one is going to come out of this divorce unscathed.” ◼