Inside Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp's relationship: From how they met to their children Lily-Rose and John

Vanessa Paradis was expected to give evidence supporting Johnny Depp in High Court today, but her appearance has since been cancelled
1/51
Megan C. Hills16 July 2020

Singer and actor Vanessa Paradis was previously set to appear in court today, as part of her ex Johnny Depp’s libel trial against The Sun. However, it has recently emerged that both she and another of Depp's exes, Winona Ryder, will no longer be testifying.

Paradis was formerly set to testify in defence of her former partner, who she was with for 14 years, and it was expected that she would have given evidence via video call that he was not violent towards her - in challenge to a 2018 The Sun article which claimed Depp is a “wife beater.”

Depp’s barrister, David Sherborne, today revealed that neither of the women would now give evidence in the blockbuster libel trial, because of the way lawyers for The Sun publisher News Group Newspapers has conducted its case.

Vanessa Paradis
Getty Images for Chanel

“I don’t need to call Ms Paradis or Ms Ryder”, he told the court. “They give evidence about Mr Depp and the suggestion he had ever hit them, which has now not been put.”

The French singer has reportedly defended Depp against the allegations in the past, as a letter obtained by TMZ claimed she felt the claims were "outrageous."

She is said to have written, "I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations made are outrageous, in all the years I have known Johnny he has never been physically abusive with me and this looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years."

Here’s everything to know about Paradis and Depp’s former relationship.

How did they meet?

Getty Images

Depp and Paradis met in Paris in 1998, while the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was filming a Roman Polanski movie called The Ninth Gate. They crossed paths when Polanski and Depp attended a dinner party at the Hotel Costes and he recounted that his “life as a single man was done” the moment he spotted her.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said, “She was wearing a dress with an exposed back and I saw that back and that neck, and then she turned around and I saw those eyes, and — boom!”

Reuters

“You have this feeling — I can’t really explain what it was, but I had it when I met her. I saw her across a room and thought: “What’s happening to me?”

Just a year later, the couple welcomed their first child Lily-Rose Depp into the world.

Were they ever married?

Getty Images

Depp and Paradis famously never married, as Depp told Extra in 2010 that he “never found myself needing that piece of paper.” He continued, “Marriage is really from soul to soul, heart to heart. You don't need somebody to say, okay you're married."

He previously said he wouldn’t mind if Paradis “wanted to get hitched”, but said, “The thing is, I'd be so scared of ruining her last name! She's got such a good last name."

When they were together, they were one of Hollywood’s biggest and most mysterious couples - donning stylish outfits, holidaying in France and generally raising the bar for cool couples. Depp was also determined from the start that he did not want their relationship - and later family - to be anything like his “parents’ relationship and my upbringing.”

How many children did they have?

Lily-Rose Depp
Getty Images

The former couple have two children: Lily-Rose Depp (who is 21 years old) and John Christopher Depp III (18 years old).

Lily-Rose is now a successful actor and model, who has starred in projects such as Netflix’s The King alongside her ex-boyfriend Timothee Chalamet and is a Chanel brand ambassador.

John, better known as Jack, tends to stay out of the spotlight in comparison to his famous family. Recently, he was seen in Paris with his girlfriend model Camille Jansen as well as his mother and sister.

When did Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp break up?

Getty Images

Paradis and Depp surprised the world when they announced they had “amicably separated” in 2012, following Depp’s notable solo appearance at the Golden Globes that same year.

Both had previously talked about the strain that their conflicting schedules had on their relationship, as Depp told Rolling Stone, “Relationships are very difficult. Especially in the racket that I’m in 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.”

“The trajectory of that relationship – you play it out until it goes, one thing leads to another. So for whatever reason that ceases, 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 gonna be in each other’s lives because of those kids. You might as well make the best of it,” he continued.

He also recalled his recent libel trial that the split had been “very painful” and that he had tried to “numb myself as much as possible”, turning to alcohol. He said that their family was “on the verge of falling apart” and continued, “I didn’t like making her sad and I didn’t like making my children sad.”

Getty Images for Chanel

He said in a witness statement, “I have two wonderful children from my relationship with Ms Paradis and I am enormously proud of them and the upbringing that we gave them.”

The French singer also hinted that the couple had had problems from the very start, telling Harper’s Bazaar after their separation, “Nothing is ever for sure, but when something in love doesn't work from the beginning, it's never going to work. Don't push it.”

“Sometimes you could be in an unhappy relationship; you are very much in love with someone, but it's making you unhappy and you think things can change and you can work it out."

Paradis also criticised the media attention on her split from Depp, asking in an interview with French Elle, “Can you imagine what it feels like to see people making a business out of your pain?”

Paradis later married in 2018 after meeting French writer Samuel Benchetrit, while Depp would go on to marry actor Amber Heard in 2015.

Depp and Heard would later divorce in 2017, after which she accused Depp of domestically abusing her. Depp and Heard are currently embroiled in a tense legal battle regarding her accusations, which have also seen Depp counter that he was the one being abused in the relationship and that he had lost out on a lucrative Disney role as a result of her claims. Both deny the accusations.

Why is Vanessa Paradis involved with Johnny Depp’s libel trial?

Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard
Getty Images

Paradis was set to give evidence at the High Court later today in defence of Johnny Depp, who is seeking a libel suit against The Sun and its executive editor Dan Wootton regarding an article that claimed he was a “wife beater.” They were based on his ex-wife Amber Heard’s claims that he had domestically abused her over the course of their relationship, allegations that Depp has denied.

It followed a letter reportedly by Paradis, which was published by TMZ, where she called Depp “a sensitive, loving and loved person” - adding, “I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations being made are outrageous.”

"In all the years I have known Johnny, he has never been physically abusive with me and this looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years,” she continued.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in