Amber Heard’s dating life has largely remained private after enduring a series of challenging legal battles with her former spouse, Johnny Depp.
Since her rise to fame, the Aquaman actress has frequently made headlines due to her romantic involvements. In 2010, she publicly identified as bisexual while in a relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree.
Reflecting on her coming out, Heard stated at The Economist’s Pride & Prejudice Summit in 2017 that it impacted her career seriously, saying, “It was not easy. I did that even though everyone told me it would end my career, without a doubt.”
Amber Heard reflects on the personal cost of her public coming out (@johnnydepp/Instagram)
Although the romance with van Ree did not endure, Heard’s relationship with Depp soon attracted media attention. The couple married, but their relationship quickly deteriorated.
After 15 months of marriage, they initiated divorce proceedings. During this time, Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against Depp, who staunchly denied the accusations.
In 2018, Heard penned an op-ed for the Washington Post, detailing her experience with assault allegations. While she did not name Depp directly, this piece initiated a prolonged legal struggle for both parties.
Following several years of litigation regarding various defamation claims, a jury in the U.S. ruled primarily in Depp’s favor in 2022. At present, Heard is concentrating on her future and her daughter, Oonagh, whom she welcomed as a single mother.
In December 2024, a representative for Heard informed PEOPLE that she is expecting her second child, sharing, “Suffice to say that Amber is delighted both for herself and Oonagh Paige.”
Here’s a retrospective on Amber Heard’s romantic history.
Tasya van Ree
The relationship between Heard and photographer Tasya van Ree began in 2008. For the initial two years, the couple kept their relationship largely under wraps, only appearing together at public events starting in 2010.
That February, they made their debut as a couple at a charity art exhibition hosted by Heard, featuring van Ree’s photography. In December 2010, during GLAAD’s 25th Anniversary party, Heard came out as bisexual, asserting she was never intentionally concealing her sexuality.
Speaking to AfterEllen.com, she introduced herself as an “out actress” for the first time and discussed her relationship with van Ree. “She’s so beautiful,” Heard remarked. “I mean, you’d have to be crazy not to want to go out with her!”
Their relationship continued for several years, during which van Ree reportedly gave Heard a dog named Pistol. The connection was serious enough for Heard to legally change her last name to van Ree, though they were unable to marry due to the lack of same-sex marriage legalization across the U.S.
However, they parted ways in 2012, leading Heard to revert to her original surname. Even after their split, their past resurfaced when it became known that Heard was arrested in 2009 for domestic violence against van Ree.
The incident allegedly occurred at a Seattle airport, where Heard supposedly grabbed and struck van Ree’s arm. No charges were filed, and in 2016, van Ree described the situation as “over-sensationalized.”
“In 2009, Amber was wrongfully accused for an incident that was misinterpreted and over-sensationalized by two individuals in a power position,” van Ree expressed in a statement. “It’s disheartening that Amber’s integrity and story are being questioned yet again.
Amber is a brilliant, honest, and beautiful woman, and I have the utmost respect for her. We shared five wonderful years together and remain close to this day.”
Since their breakup, Heard and van Ree have maintained a friendly rapport and were even seen together in 2018, according to Daily Mail.
Johnny Depp
The first encounter between Heard and Depp occurred while they were filming The Rum Diary in 2009. At that time, Heard was still in a relationship with van Ree, and Depp was with Vanessa Paradis.
Though their connection was platonic during production, Depp later admitted in court to developing feelings for Heard while on set. After filming concluded, Depp said that thoughts of Heard lingered, and they reconnected during the film’s promotional tour in 2011.
“We connect on a lot of levels, but the first things that really got me was she’s an aficionado of the blues,” Depp explained in 2015. “She’s very, very literate. She’s a voracious reader, as I have been, so we connected on that as well, and she’s kind of brilliant and beautiful.”
Once the promotional events concluded, Heard and Depp entered into a secret relationship since Depp had not publicly disclosed his breakup with Paradis.
Looking back, Heard described the early moments of their romance as feeling “like a dream,” emphasizing that Depp saw her “in a way no one else had.” They kept their relationship private for a considerable time, only being photographed together holding hands in 2013.
Less than a year later, Depp proposed to Heard at a London hotel, despite not having a ring. A source confirmed their engagement in January 2014, sharing that the couple “couldn’t be happier to be engaged.”
They were married in a civil ceremony at their Los Angeles home in February 2015, followed by a second ceremony on Depp’s private island in the Bahamas a few days later.
Their marriage was short-lived, and Heard filed for divorce in May 2016, just 15 months after their wedding. Shortly after, she accused Depp of domestic abuse and sought a domestic violence restraining order.
In her court documents, Heard detailed violent incidents, including one where Depp allegedly threw a cell phone at her face. Depp refuted the claims, and a spokesman for the LAPD stated that officers at the scene found “no evidence of any crime.”
By August 2016, the ex-spouses reached a $7 million divorce settlement outside of court, and the domestic violence claims against Depp were dismissed.
Depp described Heard as brilliant, beautiful, and a lover of blues music (@amberheard/Instagram)
In a joint statement to PEOPLE at that time, the couple characterized their relationship as “intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love.” They affirmed that neither had made false accusations for financial gain and that there was no intention of “physical or emotional harm.”
Although they went their separate ways, their drama continued. Two years post-separation, Heard published an op-ed in the Washington Post, discussing her experiences as a woman who came forward with domestic violence claims.
She stated that she “felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out” against such issues, alleging she lost numerous career opportunities and even faced death threats. While she did not mention Depp directly, this op-ed triggered a protracted legal dispute between the two.
In 2018, The Sun referred to Heard’s op-ed and labeled Depp as a “wife beater,” prompting him to sue the publication for libel. Both Heard and Depp provided testimony in a U.K. court in July 2020, which led a judge to rule against Depp, concluding that The Sun’s article was “substantially true.”
After Heard’s op-ed was published, Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against her in March 2019, claiming her accusations of domestic violence were a “hoax” and “categorically and demonstrably false.”
By August 2020, Heard countered with a $100 million lawsuit, accusing Depp of launching a “defamatory smear campaign” against her to “ruin her life and career.”
Depp’s defamation trial against Heard commenced in April 2022, where both actors testified. Depp insisted he had never abused Heard, asserting that she injured his finger by throwing a vodka bottle at him. However, a doctor employed by Depp’s team testified that he believed Heard displayed signs of multiple personality disorders.
Heard’s legal representation stressed that she was exercising her right to free speech and was not guilty of libel since her statements were truthful. During her testimony, Heard claimed that Depp was first violent with her when he allegedly slapped her for laughing at his “wino” tattoo.
She accused him of multiple instances of sexual assault, including shocking claims that he performed a “cavity search” while looking for misplaced drugs and assaulted her with a liquor bottle.
In June 2022, a jury of seven concluded that Heard had defamed Depp in her 2018 op-ed, awarding him $15 million in damages, although Virginia law limits punitive damages to $10.35 million.
Heard succeeded in one of her three defamation counts in her countersuit, securing $2 million in damages. Depp later sought to appeal the decision regarding the countersuit.
In December 2022, Heard announced she would settle the case—not as an “act of concession,” as she described it, but to leave behind what she viewed as a legal system that was “unable to protect” her or her right to free speech.
Elon Musk
During her time with Depp, Heard acted in the film Machete Kills, which included a cameo by Elon Musk, although they did not meet on set. After filming concluded, Musk contacted the film’s director, Robert Rodriguez, to arrange a dinner with Heard. However, despite the plans, she never attended.
Amber Heard passes a complex dating landscape after her publicized legal battles (@elonmusk__official__/Instagram)
Years later, Heard and Musk would finally meet, though the exact timing remains unclear. In her court testimony, Heard claimed that her friendship with Musk began at the 2016 Met Gala, where she alleged Depp “stood [her] up.”
Conversely, Depp argued in court documents from his 2022 defamation trial that Heard and Musk began a secret relationship in 2015.
“He seemed like a real gentleman,” Heard stated during her defamation trial against Depp. “He was really nice. He sat at a nearby table, and we got to speaking that night and eventually became friends.” Heard filed for divorce from Depp just weeks after
