Little did she know they would never get married!
You might be surprised, but Ryder-Depp romance, known to be one of the brightest Hollywood
love stories back in the 90s, is more than just a nostalgic memory of bygone days.
Depp and Ryder seemed to be a perfect match... Why did they break up then? Who was against
their marriage? Is it true that Winona never got over Johnny, who was her first love?
Stay with us to hear the answers to these questions and subscribe to Rumour Juice YouTube
channel to discover other exciting celebrity stories.
Winona and Johnny first met in 1989 at the "Great Balls of Fire" premiere. They only
saw each other that day, but apparently it was enough for the feelings to start blooming.
At the time Winona was a teen starlet, and Johnny was already a rising TV idol. Both
of them believed it was love at first sight. Depp even named it "a classic glance, like
the zoom lenses in West Side Story, and everything else gets foggy." In other words, the 26-year-old
actor was instantly smitten with the 17-year-old. Still, they got to know each other only a
couple of months later when a mutual friend introduced them.
Before Depp, the only person Ryder had dated was Christian Slater. Technically, they were
just seeing each other for a couple of months. She'd never been in a serious relationship
before Depp.
"When I met Johnny, I was a pure virgin. He changed that. He was my first everything.
My first real kiss. My first real boyfriend. My first fiancé. The first guy I had sex
with."
It wasn't the first everything for Johnny though: he had been married once and engaged
twice by that time. Winona wasn't bothered by that because, according to her, they had
a connection on a deeper level.
"We have the same coloring, but we're from very different backgrounds, so we're interested
in each other all the time."
Well, they literally had the same coloring: with their dark hair, pale skin, and brooding
good looks, they matched perfectly well. But what Winona obviously meant was the fact they
had a lot in common. And what did Johnny think when their relationship with Winona just started?
"When I met Winona, and we fell in love, it was absolutely like nothing before. We hung
out the whole day and night, and we've been hanging out ever since. I love her more than
anything in the whole world."
Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were inseparable. The actors co-starred in "Edward Scissorhands".
They kept listening to their favorite songs together and reading Beat poetry to each other.
Johnny made a “Winona Forever” tattoo on his arm, which really impressed the actress’s
strict parents. They loved Johnny and approved of their daughter’s choice. They used to
bring Winona and Johnny breakfasts in bed whenever the lovebirds were staying over their
place.
Depp and Ryder were the most talked-about item in Hollywood in the early '90s – and
for a reason. However, not many knew that the couple encountered some difficulties that
turned out to be unbearable for their love.
Things were developing so fast! Well, maybe too fast… After dating for five months only,
Johnny and Winona got engaged and moved in together. Everything was leading up to the
marriage. Winona and Johnny tried to enlist their friend, "Hairspray" director John Waters,
to marry them in a ceremony. Back in 2019, John Waters revealed in his new memoir that
he refused to marry 28-year-old Johnny to 19-year-old Winona because he thought she
was too young. Waters talked them out of it after Depp's lawyers had drafted the paperwork.
According to Waters, Winona's parents were grateful that he managed to dissuade the couple
from getting hitched.
Marriage, postponed for an uncertain time, was only one of the obstacles the two had
to face. We should remember they both were rising stars at the time, and therefore they
both were pretty busy with their work. Johnny spent days and nights on the set of “What's
Eating Gilbert Grape?”. It was during this project’s filming when his problems with
alcohol and drugs started.
“It was a pretty dark time for me. I don’t know what exactly was going on. Well, I was
poisoning myself beyond belief. I’ve never seen Gilbert Grape, actually. I can’t watch
it.”
Whatever he was going through, it could have possibly influenced his relationship with
Winona – not in a good way, obviously. The actress was also busy at the time. She was
playing (quote) “a young fiancée with lack of personal opinion and sense of self” in
Martin Scorcese’s “Age Of Innocence”.
In 1993, after four years of being together, Ryder and Depp decided to split. Winona's
representative at the time blamed the split on the carelessness of young love and stardom.
Depp, for his part, explained it as follows speaking to Los Angeles Times:
"It's very hard to have a personal life in this town. My relationship with Winona, it
was my mistake to be as open as we were, but I thought if we were honest, it would destroy
that curiosity monster. Instead, it fed it, gave people license to feel they were part
of it."
Winona only mentioned that Johnny would be a forever dear person to her.
"He'll always be in my heart. Forever. Kind of funny that word".
Apparently, she meant it, but the separation turned out to be very traumatic for both.
Ryder found herself slowly spinning out of control. Ten years later, she confirmed that
it was the darkest time of her life.
"I was embarrassingly dramatic at the time, but you have to remember I was only 19 years
old."
Broken engagement put the starlet through the anguish of depression. A doctor gave the
actress sleeping pills, and sometimes she hell-bent taking too many of them. Once Winona
fell asleep with a lit cigarette and woke up to the flames. She also experimented with
booze and drugs. She didn't really care about her career and public image.
In the meantime, Johnny was going through his personal hell. He started working on "Ed
Wood" with Tim Burton, and, according to Burton, the actor was pretty broken about Winona.
"There were days he would come crying. I asked him why it happened, but all he said was,
'It wasn't her fault, it was mine.' I felt weird to be around him because he wasn't acting
like Johnny anymore. It's almost like Winona took Johnny's soul, Johnny's love."
Burton also mentioned that the actor was never the same, even in his next romance with Kate
Moss. She expected Johnny to get rid of the "Winona Forever" tattoo, but Johnny changed
it to "Wino Forever" instead… Well, well.
Johnny then found himself involved in numerous love stories. Some were allegedly happy, others
turned out to be dramatically entangled. After dating Kate Moss for four years, he ended
up in a 14-year relationship with Vanessa Paradis. Allegedly, Depp began seeing Amber
Heard while he was still with Vanessa. According to an anonymous source, this theory upset
Ryder whose long-lasting respectful relationship with Johnny changed after she learned about
his romance with Amber. It is believed Winona didn't appreciate his decision (quote) to
dump a long-term baby-mama for a woman in her twenties. However, a
couple of years later, Winona rushed to her ex's defense when Heard accused the actor
of domestic violence.
"I was absolutely shocked, confused, and upset when I heard the accusations against him.
The idea that he is an incredibly violent person is the farthest thing from the Johnny
I knew and loved. I cannot wrap my head around these accusations."
At the time, Ryder claimed she was willing to be called as a witness for Depp. In an
official statement, she mentioned that she considered him her best friend and someone
as close as a family member. Depp's romantic and family life was quite intense. And what
about Ryder's other romances? Following her relationship with Depp, she dated Soul Asylum
lead singer Dave Pirner for three years and went on to date Matt Damon for two years.
Unlike Johnny, she's never been married. Winona is not a fan of casual dating, and she once
called herself a serial monogamist.
"Marriage? I don't know. I'd rather never have been married than been divorced a few
times."
Another reason Winona's never married roots in her family. The thing is: her parents were
madly in love with each other for five decades. By doing so, they apparently set a high standard
for their daughter who wouldn't set for less in her own adult life.
Back in 2016, notoriously private Ryder revealed she had been dating someone for quite a while.
Though Winona keeps her private life very low-key these days, the 48-year-old is reportedly
together with a fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn since 2011.
However, in 2019, Johnny and Winona were said to be in touch again. Various sources suggested
the actor tried to reach Winona through their mutual friends. The "Star" magazine reported
that the exes were talking on the phone and exchanging texts. Winona's friends were urging
her avoid her past love, because (quote) "a fragile soul like her doesn't need a hellraiser
like Johnny."
Well, maybe they were not a perfect match after all? With or without someone interfering
with their relationship, Winona and Johnny obviously knew what was better for them. Besides,
we shouldn’t underestimate (quote) “the carelessness of young love and stardom”
– the only so-to-say officially announced reason for their split. They faced a whirlwind
of emotions and feelings, newfound fame, lack of experience, unwanted public attention,
and apparently they couldn’t overcome all the obstacles at once. Who knows – maybe
that was simply too much for two young souls to handle.