(CNN) — Johnny Depp and Amber Heard currently spend their days in a courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia.
Depp, who testified for three days this week, is suing his ex-wife for $50 million over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote.
How they got there, 13 years after they first met, is the story of an on-set spark that turned into a brief marriage gone wrong.
2009
Depp and Heard first met on the set of the movie “The Rum Diary” in 2009.
Johnny Depp y Amber Heard en ‘The Rum Diary’.
Based on the book of the same name by Hunter S. Thompson, the film stars Depp as a journalist named Paul Kemp who takes a job in Puerto Rico. Heard played Chenault, with whom Kemp falls in love at first sight.
On the witness stand at the libel trial this week, Depp described the connection he felt with Heard when a scene called for their characters to kiss in the shower.
“That moment was, was, felt like something, felt like something I shouldn’t be feeling,” Depp said, explaining that the two were in other relationships at the time. “I think there was something about the kiss in the shower that was real.”
Depp testified that the two met again two years later on a promotional tour for the film.
2012
Depp and his longtime partner Vanessa Paradis, who share two children, Lily-Rose and John Christopher, split in 2012.
Heard and Depp began dating and then got engaged in 2014, according to a People magazine report at the time.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, then engaged, arrive at the Met Gala in 2014.
2015
Depp and Heard married in a private ceremony in Los Angeles.
2016
Heard filed for divorce after 15 months of marriage. He obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, claiming that he abused her while he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Depp denied the allegations and a $7 million settlement was reached in August 2016. Heard donated the money to charity.
The actors released a joint statement at the time that read: “Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound together by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intention of physical or emotional harm.
2018
Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in December 2018 about the treatment of women in domestic abuse cases. She didn’t mention Depp by name.
2019
Depp sued Heard for $50 million for defamation over her Washington Post article, claiming it cost him a lucrative acting job.
Heard was unsuccessful in his attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed. His $100 million counterclaim case is ongoing.
2020
In 2020, Depp took the publisher of The Sun to court for libel in the UK over a 2018 article that claimed he was violent towards Heard.
Johnny Depp during his libel case in London in 2020.
Depp denied all allegations of abuse.
Heard testified in that case, claiming at one point that Depp threatened to kill her “many times.”
The UK court found the newspaper’s claims to be “substantially true” and Depp was denied an appeal.
2022
The trial for Depp’s libel case against Heard began in Virginia on April 12.
Heard’s attorney said in an opening statement that Depp “will try to turn this case into a soap opera.”
Amber Heard speaks with her legal team in Virginia court this week.
Depp took the stand for the first time on Tuesday. He has testified about his experiences growing up with an abusive mother, his struggles with substance abuse and his tumultuous relationship with Heard.
Depp acknowledged in his testimony that he and Heard had arguments during their relationship, but said: “I never got to the point of hitting Ms. Heard in any way nor have I ever hit any woman in my life.”
Heard has not yet taken the stand at the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
Depp is expected to resume on the stand for further cross-examination on Monday.
