Love at first sight, but never married?
A rocky divorce?
And just what kind of drama led to their big split?
We've got the details of what really happened between Johnny Depp and his longtime paramour,
Vanessa Paradis.
Johnny Depp's life took a sudden turn after he first spotted Vanessa Paradis.
It was 1998, and Depp was in France working on Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate.
According to The Daily Mail, the actor said it was love at first sight when he spotted
the French star at a hotel.
Depp said of the meeting,
"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!
My life as a single man was done."
Additionally, it's noted that once he was with Paradis, Depp moved away from his former
partying lifestyle by cutting back on drinking and smoking to instead focus on healthier living.
Depp also praised the singer for her talents and for being extremely supportive and kind.
Likewise, an article from the Mirror recalled Paradis' recollection of her experience meeting Depp.
Previously, Paradis had told the Times that she'd had feelings for Depp even before the
two were together.
She remarked that she could still remember their first meeting, when Depp shook her hand, saying,
"He didn't only look good, everything was good.
He was so sweet, so different.
He just seemed like a good person.
I just knew [...] there was no one better."
While they were ultimately together for 14 years, Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis never
chose to make things official and get married.
During a chat with Extra in 2010, 12 years into his relationship with Paradis, Depp gave
the entertainment outlet his reasoning for why the then-longtime couple had never gotten
hitched, saying,
"I never found myself needing that piece of paper.
Marriage is really from soul to soul, heart to heart.
You don't need somebody to say, okay you're married."
"How would you say that she has affected your life?"
"Ummmm.
Changed it, completely."
Still, regardless of his feelings on marriage, the star voiced that he wasn't opposed to
the idea, saying that if the French singer wanted the couple to tie the knot, he was
more than open to the idea.
However, Depp jokingly added that there was one downside to the possibility of the pair getting married.
He stated,
"I'd be so scared of ruining her last name.
She's got such a good last name."
Furthermore, the Evening Standard noted that Depp was always mindful of making sure that
his relationship and family with Paradis wasn't a reflection of his parent's relationship
or own upbringing, which, according to Express, involved abusive behavior from Depp's mother
towards the rest of the family.
From its beginning, Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis's relationship moved quickly.
The happy couple welcomed their first child on May 27, 1999.
Lily-Rose was born in her mother's native country of France, and as she grew up, it
soon became clear that the daughter of the famous couple similarly had her own acting ambitions.
In 2014, Lily-Rose appeared in the horror-comedy Tusk alongside her father, and has since starred
in films like The Dancer, Yoga Hosers, and The King.
Depp's daughter has also built up an impressive resume as a model and has worked for brands like Chanel.
Soon after Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis welcomed Lily-Rose into the world, the couple
had their second child.
John Christopher Depp III, known as Jack, was born on April 9, 2002.
According to Vogue, the couple's baby boy was born in an American hospital in France.
The magazine claimed that the newborn's moniker, Jack, reportedly came from Depp's fondness
for his film From Hell, which explored the murderous actions of Jack the Ripper.
"I mean, Vanessa and my kids gave me life."
Now 20 years old, Jack has largely avoided the spotlight.
During a 2014 interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Depp praised his son, stating,
"My boy Jack has always been a very talented draftsman.
He draws really super-well."
The actor then went on to gush about Jack's creative abilities, saying that his son was
also very musically gifted.
Depp also added that he was relieved that his son didn't seem interested in pursuing
a career in the entertainment industry.
With plenty of touching tributes made to Vanessa Paradis and his children, it's no surprise
that family is very important to Johnny Depp.
Sadly, back in 2007, the couple's then-7-year-old daughter Lily-Rose Depp ended up hospitalized
with a serious illness.
The outlet stated that Depp and Paradis rarely left their daughter's bedside during that
period, adding that the family only wanted Lily-Rose to recover.
An insider said,
"The whole family is just praying that she gets better.
They are taking each day as it comes."
Though her illness wasn't disclosed at the time to respect the family's privacy, since
Lily-Rose's recovery, it's been revealed that she contracted E. coli poisoning that resulted
in kidney failure.
"I've known darkness in my life, but that was the darkest period ever."
The experience impacted Depp, and after his daughter's hospitalization, he visited sick
children in hospitals dressed as his Pirates of the Caribbean character, Captain Jack Sparrow.
During an interview with The Graham Norton Show, the actor stated that being able to
visit these children after Lily-Rose's recovery was a blessing.
"After that the visits became more and more important."
Likewise, during his acceptance speech after receiving the Rhonda's Kiss Healing and Hope
Award in 2016, Depp declared his admiration for the parents and children fighting cancer.
He said,
"I lived in the [London] hospital for three weeks with my girl and my [daughter], not
knowing if she was going to make it or not.
Parents, please note that you have my utter respect."
In 2012, Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis officially called it quits after 14 years together.
Depp's publicist told People that the pair had separated on good terms and wanted privacy
for themselves and their children.
Later in 2013, Depp spoke with Rolling Stone about the break-up.
Telling the magazine that things had been fairly rocky for the past few years, the actor
said it wasn't surprising that issues had popped up, stating,
"Relationships are very difficult.
It wasn't easy on me.
It wasn't easy on the kids."
Still, Depp admitted that he and Paradis would always be connected since she is the mother
of his children, saying,
"You're always gonna be in each other's lives because of those kids.
You might as well make the best of it."
He also said that he was honest with his children, and they handled it well.
"I was extremely proud of them, you know, the way they dealt with it."
On the other hand, during an interview with French Elle, Paradis told the fashion-focused
outlet that she didn't want to discuss her ex, saying,
"I don't have the recipe for happiness, but I think the engine is simply having the desire."
Paradis later added that she was content with her life.
Additionally, in a separate interview with Harper's Bazaar, the French star appeared
to be ready for a new romance.
She told the outlet that she favored a specific type of person:
"Well, my type is obviously creative.
Creative, with burning eyes and a pretty mouth."
Though she and Johnny Depp called it quits in 2012, it wasn't long before Vanessa Paradis
found love again.
According to The Sun, the French singer met her current partner, Samuel Benchetrit, in 2016.
Benchetrit and Paradis first met on the set of his fifth film, Dog.
Just a few years after the pair's initial romance started up, he and Paradis decided
to make things official and got married.
Paradis and Benchetrit were married 2018 in France at a town hall in Saint Simeon in a
low-key ceremony.
Paradis' children attended the wedding.
The Daily Mail added that Paradis' happy news surprised some, as she'd previously stated
in a 2011 interview that she had no interest in getting married.
It's clear her feelings on the matter changed over time.
Not long after he split from Vanessa Paradis, Johnny Depp moved on and began what would
become a highly publicized romance with Amber Heard.
At the time, Hello!
Magazine reported that the French model was happy for her ex and stated that Depp had
allegedly told Paradis of his plans to wed Heard.
Regarding the former couple, a source told Us Weekly,
"Vanessa wished him happiness.
No drama.
[...] She's not bitter, she's happy."
Depp and Heard later wed on his private island in 2015; however, unlike Paradis' low-key
marriage to Samuel Benchetrit, Depp and Heard's relationship ultimately led to serious allegations
and plenty of very public drama.
The pair's divorce was finalized in 2017 after Heard obtained a restraining order and cited
domestic abuse claims, allegations Depp denied.
But, despite their split, news regarding the pair's short-lived relationship only continued
to appear in the media.
Heard's allegations eventually led Depp to suing The Sun newspaper in the U.K. for labeling
him as a, quote, "wife beater."
Though he would lose that case, more recently, Depp sued Heard for defamation regarding her abuse allegations.
That case resulted in the highly publicized Virginia trial, where a jury ruled overwhelmingly
in Depp's favor, awarding him over $10 million in damages.
In comparison, Heard only won one of her counterclaims, which awarded her $2 million in damages.
"This was the most humiliating and horrible thing I've ever been through."
Amid Amber Heard's allegations of domestic abuse at the hands of Johnny Depp, TMZ reported
that Vanessa Paradis had spoken up in her ex's defense.
In a letter that was obtained by the entertainment news source, the French star wrote that Depp
was a good man.
She called him, quote, "a sensitive, loving and loved person."
Paradis added that she genuinely believed that Heard's claims were ridiculous and said
that throughout her relationship with Depp, she'd never known him to be abusive in any
form, writing,
"This looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years."
Deadline reported that though Paradis had planned to testify on Depp's behalf during
his libel trial in the U.K., she would not actually appear in court.
The aforementioned letter from Paradis had been a part of her witness statement.
But, according to the outlet, Depp's case representative David Sherborne told the court
that the actor's legal team no longer planned to use testimony from Depp's exes.
The announcement came during the week that Paradis and another ex, Winona Ryder, were
set to appear via video link.
Sherborne said to the court,
"There is no need to reschedule those witnesses, much as it would have been a pleasure to have them here."
Sherborne added that the reason for not calling the women to testify was because the case
wasn't about Depp's treatment of his former partners.