Johnny Depp is “in a much better position recently,” three months after the judgment in his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. According to a source close to the 59-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star, that he’s actually in a much better place lately and taking better care of himself.
“He’s dating someone and seems really happy” the insider adds of Depp, who PEOPLE recently confirmed is dating Joelle Rich, one of the lawyers in his UK libel suit. According to the source, “Johnny’s ugly sides have been exposed” during his six-week trial against Heard, 36. “He never claimed he was perfect, but making changes is hard. He worked through issues and accepted help,” continues the insider.
You might also like: ‘Supporting Johnny Depp doesn’t mean you betray women’: Depp fans blast new anti-Depp campaign from Amber Heard supporters ahead of Depp-Heard 2.0 trial
How did Johnny Depp meet Joelle Rich?
On Thursday, a source confirmed Depp’s relationship with Rich, telling PEOPLE, “They are dating but it’s not serious.” Rich is a London lawyer who represented the actor in his libel action against The Sun, which he lost in November 2020.
He sued the newspaper for calling him a “wife beater,” but the court upheld the newspaper’s charges as “essentially true” and his ex-wife Heard testified to back up the claims. His attempt to overturn the decision was rejected in March 2021. In the defamation case against the Aquaman actress from Fairfax County, Va., this year, Depp’s new love was not among her lawyers.
Rich “helps individuals and families in the public eye to protect their privacy and reputation”, according to his biography, and has “Expertise in matters of defamation, confidentiality and copyright.” She “work to defend [clients’] reputation in print, online and social media against false and defamatory accusations.
Also read: Despite losing a UK libel case, Johnny Depp wrote personal thank you notes and handed out dozens of gift boxes to all the fans who supported him on the final day of the trial
Johnny Depp, 3 months after the defamation case
Johnny Depp won the libel suit; a jury determined that Heard defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed alleging domestic abuse, even though she did not name him. Depp was awarded more than $10 million in damages, while Heard was awarded $2 million for one of his three counter-defamation lawsuit allegations. (Both are appealing their verdicts.)
Depp claimed in a statement following Virginia’s recent verdict that the jury “gave me back my life” and that the “The best is yet to come” for him. Meanwhile, Heard called him a “backhand” for women speaking out.
Also Read: ‘We Were Worried’: Johnny Depp’s Lawyers Admit They Were Worried About Losing Case Against Amber Heard After Aquaman Star Convinced Jury of His ‘Lies’
Although Rich is not on Depp’s legal team this time around, she has appeared in court several times to show her support. On May 3, she was caught with Depp outside the courthouse and on May 16, she was photographed hugging the Pirates of the Caribbean Actor Camille Vasquez’s lawyer in the courtroom.
Source: People
