AMBER’S NEW BEGINNING
THE ACTRESS IS LIVING LIFE ON HER OWN TERMS FOLLOWING HER HIGH-PROFILE SPLIT
There is no doubt that Amber Heard has had a tumultuous decade since she first laid eyes on ex Johnny Depp on the set of their 2011 film The Rum Diary. But after a very public split and messy divorce, the star has found her freedom and is finally living the life of her dreams.
The actress, 35, shocked and delighted fans on July 1 when she announced she had become a first-time mum.
“Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child,” Heard confessed in a heartfelt post on Instagram, along with a stunning image of the star lying on a bed tenderly holding her newborn child against her chest. “I wanted to do it on my own terms,” she added.
Heard explained she’d welcomed her daughter, named Oonagh Paige Heard, via a surrogate on April 8. “She’s the beginning of the rest of my life,” she added.
Friends close to the Marvel star agree that the adorable baby was the antidote Heard needed after the past few turbulent years, which saw her go head to head with Depp, 58, in court. She also lost her own mother, Paige Heard, in May 2020 at the age of 63.
“Oonagh is absolutely gorgeous, and Amber is besotted,” a source told website Page Six. “[Amber] always knew that she wanted to be a mum, and this is her greatest wish come true. She’s so grateful to the wonderful woman who helped bring Oonagh into her life,” the source added.
While Heard has admitted she contemplated keeping the news of the birth private, her friend revealed she decided it was important to share her experience with other women who were suffering from fertility issues.
“There are so many women who feel they can’t talk about their fertility and are worried and embarrassed,” the source revealed. “Amber wants them to feel supported and realise that there are a multitude of ways to have a baby, even if you have fertility issues,” the source added.
The birth marks a fresh start for the bisexual Justice League star after she found love again. Heard has been in a relationship with girlfriend Bianca Butti, 39, since January 2020.
By starting the family she has longed for, Heard is clearly showing she is ready to move on after the lengthy and public battles with Depp. While the pair finalised their divorce in 2016, Heard became embroiled in another nasty legal battle in the British High Court last July after she was called as a witness in a suit Depp filed against The Sun. The British newspaper wrote an article that labelled the actor a “wife beater”.
The judge found that Depp had assaulted Heard on a dozen occasions and put her in “fear for her life” three times. Despite the public vindication of her claims of abuse, Heard was traumatised by the hearing. “After obtaining a restraining order in 2016 and finalising my divorce, I just wanted to move on with my life,” she explained at the time. “It has been incredibly painful to relive the break-up of my relationship, to have my motives and my truth questioned, and the most traumatic and intimate details of my life with Johnny shared in court and broadcast to the entire world.”
But this year has been a turning point for the star, who is becoming more confident as she returns to work to film the Aquaman sequel. However, motherhood remains her first priority. “For now, all that matters to Amber is Oonagh and raising a healthy and strong daughter,” the source said.
• By Kylie Walters
“I wanted to do it on my own terms”
–HEARD