Depp reveals anguish over split
For the first time heartthrob Johnny Depp is revealing his anguish after splitting with longtime French girlfriend Vanessa Paradis.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star told Rolling Stone the pair are struggling to “make the best of it” for the sake of their children LilyRose, 14, and Jack, 11. The pair split last summer after 14 years together.
Depp, 50, is now dating his Rum Diary leading lady, Amber Heard. He told the magazine the last years of the relationship had been tough.
“The last couple of years have been a bit bumpy,” he told Rolling Stone. “At times, certainly unpleasant, but that’s the nature of breakups, I guess, especially when there are kiddies involved.
“Relationships are very difficult, especially in the racket that I’m in,” Depp said, “because you’re constantly away or they’re away and so it’s hard. It wasn’t easy on her. It wasn’t easy on me. It wasn’t easy on the kids.
“It doesn’t stop the fact that you care for that person, and they’re the mother of your kids, and you’ll always know each other, and you’re always going to be in each other’s lives because of those kids. You might as well make the best of it.”
Starring in summer release The Lone Ranger, Depp admitted he didn’t try to sugar-coat things for his children.
“You can’t shield them, because then you’d be lying,” he said. “So you can at least be honest with your kids, and you say the absolute truth to your child — that was very important to not pussyfoot around.”
Depp — once one of Hollywood’s leading drinkers — has also packed in the alcohol that cast a long shadow over his early career.
Being a teetotaller helped him adjust after he and Paradis went their separate ways.
“I definitely wasn’t going to rely on the drink to ease things or cushion the blow or cushion the situation,” he said, “’cause that could have been fatal.”