Vanessa Paradis is currently promoting her role as a very overbearing mother in Cafe de Flore (a “decades spanning saga“), and she’s doing the publicity rounds in New York. Many people stateside often believe that Vanessa gained her (relative) notoriety through her long-term relationship with Johnny Depp, but Vanessa was famous in France for several years (as a film star and musical artist) before she met Johnny. She even won the equivalent of a French Oscar (a Cesar award) before Depp rocked her world (both up and down), so to speak. So now Vanessa, in the aftermath of their breakup, pushes forth with her professional life, and from the looks of her IMDb profile, she’s got a number of acting projects in the chute. Here are some excerpts from her recent interview with the Daily Beast:

She’s in NYC filming a Woody Allen movie: “I’m thrilled to be in New York because it was the city of my 20s–of freedom. I was working since I was 14 in France, and coming here as an unknown, walking through the streets, there’s an amazing energy and light in the sky. I’m so happy to be here.”

On her split with Johnny Depp: “I don’t sell my private life, and nobody knows the truth or has done a proper journalist’s work on that situation. Nowadays, people speculate, but nobody knows! I have my children to protect. There are children involved, so it’s really no one’s business but the family.”

On playing an overprotective mother in Cafe de Flore: “All parents are [overprotective]. When somebody hurts your child, you become a war machine. You couldn’t kill, but you want to. We have the gut feeling, you know? You love and you fear for them, and it’s all here [points to her belly]. I understand that. But Jacqueline is in a very different situation because she gave birth to a child with Down syndrome, and back then, the life expectancy of a child with Down syndrome was 25 years, so this woman is completely driven by love and fear, and she forgets who she is as a human being.”

On being a child star: “It was crazy to grow up in front of the cameras and speak to people when you’re not ready to speak at all. I loved singing, so it was amazing and cruel at the same time. When you’re 14 years old, you’re not a finished human being, so defending your ideas from critics is difficult.”

She’s taking on more work: “It just happened like that! With the age that I am, I guess there are more roles. I didn’t decide to act more but a lot of interesting roles just came at once. Since I’m turning 40, I can play the love interest, the mom, or the friend. When you’re younger, it’s all about ingenue roles.”

On becoming a mother: “What changes with motherhood is that you’re not No. 1 in your life anymore. Suddenly, someone counts more than yourself. It makes you a better person, less selfish and more aware of others. The biggest love of your life is born, and it’s the one love that never fades, but keeps growing stronger.”

[From Daily Beast]

I love Vanessa’s sentiments on aging in the film industry, which are quite similar to Winona Ryder’s statement (in response to her recent career resurrection) that she’s “psyched for 40.” That’s an admirable attitude. I wish I were psyched for 40 too, but yeah, I’m not really that evolved with just three more years to go. But I totally get her statements about motherhood. Once one sets their sights upon their own child for the first time, well, the rest is history.

Even though Vanessa will always be inextricably linked to Johnny Depp by their two children, she will always be a huge presence in France even without (and perhaps in spite of) his association. I happen to believe that she is perfectly lovely. Sure, she has some bad angles, but don’t we all?

Photos courtesy of WENN

I’ve finally figured out that Karl Lagerfeld is more than just an (overrated?) German designer and daddy to Princess Choupette. He’s also a matchmaker too! Remember how Katy Perry conveniently started “dating” Lagerfeld’s vapid muse, the so-called highest paid male model in the world, Baptiste Giabiconi? Well, that little romance didn’t last long (for obvious reasons), but Uncle Karl is not to be deterred. Now he’s gone and set up Vanessa Paradis, with whom he rubbed nips with in the above photo, which was taken at a Chanel Versailles event in May. Of course, Vanessa and Karl have been tight for years, but as far as I know, this is the first time Karl has set her up with a gentleman. Or so I assume this dude is a gentleman:

Who’s the lucky guy? Benjamin Biolay, who is a French musician who has already been linked to Vanessa in a Star story from a few months ago and was supposedly quite useful at making Johnny Depp jealous. So I guess it’s official now, thanks to Karl, and now the Mail has an interesting tidbit about how Carla Bruni allegedly used to hook up with Benjamin too. This is according to some pesky rumors about how Carla and Nicolas Sarkozy were both cheating on each other in 2010, and Carla was supposedly cheating with Benjamin. Then all of a sudden, Carla came up pregnant in early 2011. I don’t really think there’s ever been a formal question of whether or not the baby was actually Sarko’s child, but the timing may have been pretty close. Anyway, that’s all presumably over by now because Vanessa has captured Benjamin’s heart:

Vanessa Paradis is back in the dating game following her split from
Pirates Of The Caribbean star Johnny Depp. The French singer broke up with the Hollywood superstar earlier this year after 14 years together.

Now she is seeing Benjamin Biolay, who is an ex of France’s former First Lady, Carla Bruni. Singer Biolay, 39, was introduced to Vanessa by Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld.

“They’re the same age and have similar backgrounds in music, so Karl was keen for them to meet,” says a Paris spy. “They have even recorded a duet called ‘Enjoy’ on Benjamin’s latest album. They plan to promote and tour the album together next spring.”

It was revealed in June that Depp and Vanessa had separated. The couple have two children together — Lily-Rose, 13, and ten-year-old Jack. Rumours began to surface about a split between the pair earlier this year – the couple had not been seen at a public event together since 2010, and the French singer had not attended any of the promotional events for Depp’s recent films Dark Shadows or The Rum Diary.

The pair ended the speculation when they announced their separation in June, with Depp linked to his Rum Diary co-star Amber Heard, while Paradis is said to have moved on with French businessman Guy-David Gharbi, according to reports.

[From Daily Mail]

Small world those French celebrities live in, right? Of course, French social circles are probably equally as (figuratively) incestuous as Hollywood ones. Everyone has slept with everyone else, but now Vanessa is sleeping with a man who was allegedly banging the French First Lady while her husband was in office. Crazy stuff, and I think Vanessa can really do better. This guy is no looker for sure.

Photos courtesy of WENN

It really does seem like Vanessa Paradis sat down for no fewer than three major magazine interviews around the time she and Johnny Depp were officially separating. Of course, Vanessa is promoting a film, and she was just being a pro, right? I previewed some of Vanessa’s mag pieces yesterday – Marie Claire France, French Elle and Harper’s Bazaar US. Bazaar released their full Paradis story yesterday, and while this isn’t some huge confessional, Vanessa definitely IS talking about her split with Johnny. This is the interview where Vanessa says, “Love is the strongest and most fragile thing we have in life. Nothing is ever for sure, but when something in love doesn’t work from the beginning, it’s never going to work. Don’t push it.” You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

Meeting your soulmate: “When you meet the love of your life, it’s just obvious and natural and easier,” she says. But, she adds, “you keep learning all the time. Sometimes you could be in an unhappy relationship; you are very much in love with someone, but it’s making you unhappy and you think things can change and you can work it out.”

Intimacy: They made French their own private language, speaking it when they “needed to have intimacy, when you want to have secrets in the middle of a crowd,” Paradis says. Two children quickly followed, Lily-Rose, now 13, and John, nicknamed Jack, 10.

Becoming “the ultimate chic vagabonds”: “It takes a lot of thinking and organization,” Paradis says of the nomadic existence. Even now, their primary concern is to maintain a sense of balance and protect their children from the tabloid glare. “We have a very privileged life. But even when we are in L.A., where it’s focused on the film industry, it’s also very family-oriented. I’m in love with the schools. We try to keep it normal.”

On fame: “I was for sure not prepared for fame when it happened,” Paradis recalls of her precipitous rise. “But nobody pushed me to do it. I wanted to sing, to dance, to work.” Now that Lily-Rose is one year shy of “Joe le Taxi” age, writes her own songs, and loves to sing (and in her cutoff jeans and tousled hair is the spitting image of her maman), Paradis sees a different path for her daughter. “Right now I hope she can wait, live her life, and be prepared. She sings a lot, which is great to build up her voice. But it’s a very strange situation,” she says. Paradis is referring to childhood stardom, though with all the extra attention paid to her private life, what was once strange has gotten stranger still.

On aging, plastic surgery and fixing her teeth: As for Paradis’s own beauty, it has simply morphed over the years: She has aged without a lot of fuss. Deep laugh lines frame her teal-smudged eyes, and her face reveals considerable animation. She says she doesn’t plan on plastic surgery. (“I don’t work in America, so I don’t feel the pressure.”) And forget about altering what the French call les dents du bonheur, or lucky teeth. “Why would I fix them? I was born with them. I can spit water through them. They’re useful!”

Moving on to the next man: The day that Paradis moves on, in France at least, the press will run wild again. There are already rumors linking her with singer-songwriter Benjamin Biolay and Lenny Kravitz, which one should take with an enormous grain of fleur de sel. That said, Paradis does have an eye for a specific kind of man. “Well, my type is obviously creative,” she says, with a quick smile. “Creative, with burning eyes and a pretty mouth.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

Burning eyes, creative and a pretty mouth? Bitch wants a piece of Tom Hardy!!!!! Oh, you in danger, girl. Tom Hardy’s burning eyes and pretty mouth are mine. MINE. I do like what she says about aging, plastic surgery and her teeth. Seriously, this woman is 39 years old – she’s beautiful in the particular kind of French way (or what this gauche American thinks of as “the French way”). She doesn’t need to fix her teeth or get Botoxed or any of that. Although I do think she’ll probably feel a moment of “Seriously, I need to get my eyes done” when Johnny really starts getting hot and heavy with a 23-year-old. I hope she manages to avoid it, though.

Photos courtesy of Bazaar, WENN.

Vanessa Paradis covers the September issue of Marie Claire France. I’m not sure when the interview and photo shoot went down – Vanessa and Johnny Depp announced their formal split on June 19th, which would have been right around the time that Vanessa would have been posing for a September cover. I haven’t found an English translation of the MC France interview yet, so I really don’t know what she’s talking about in the magazine. So let’s just discuss her photo shoot, shall we? First of all, I think she looks great. Vanessa usually isn’t styled this way – she often goes with a more hippie/boho/gypsy-princess vibe. This shoot feels more 1980s and glam. I can’t say I’m crazy about her frizzed-out hair – Vanessa normally has good hair, so I don’t get this.

Meanwhile, Vanessa also has a new interview in the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar (US). Page Six says this piece went down two days before the split announcement in June. With this one, we don’t have any Bazaar photos yet, but we do have a few excerpts:

French beauty Vanessa Paradis spoke wistfully about love just before she split with Johnny Depp.

“Love is the strongest and most fragile thing we have in life,” Paradis says in Harper’s Bazaar’s September issue in an interview done two days before they announced they’d broken up. “Nothing is ever for sure, but when something in love doesn’t work from the beginning, it’s never going to work. Don’t push it,” she also says.

Paradis and Depp have two children. They split in June after 14 years together.

[From Page Six]

Damn, those two quotes made me really sad. Love is “the most fragile thing”? “When something in love doesn’t work from the beginning, it’s never going to work. Don’t push it”??? Vanessa is such a buzz-kill, and I mean that in a sympathetic way. It would be easier for all of us if she came out of the gate with a lot of anger or with a lot of self-pity. Instead, she just seems kind of sad and reflective. Poor V. I do believe that she was trying to work it out with Johnny.

Apparently, VP is also interviewed in the new issue of Elle France too. Here are some excerpts from that interview:

On Johnny: “I don’t want to talk about him. Who said that artists should sell their soul, expose everything about themselves? … It’s my duty to promote this movie, and my albums, but can you imagine what it feels like to see people making a business out of your pain.” She adds: “What’s happened to us is our concern.”

Happiness: “I don’t have the recipe for happiness, but I think the engine is simply having the desire,” she says. “It’s not feeling obliged or forced or repeating yourself. I hate, for example, whenever you hear someone say: ‘You have work at being a couple,’” she continues. “No, you have to want to be there. And for me, I want to be right where I am right now.’”

The future: VP says she’ll continue to divide her time between the United States and France, and their children, Lily-Rose, 14, and Jack, 10, will attend school in Los Angeles. “My children are grown now, they are more independent,” she says, noting that Lily-Rose is the same age as Paradis when she broke internationally as a pop singer. “My daughter loves singing above all else. Jack, he’s a guitarist.”

What if her kids follow in their parents’ footsteps? “I can tell you that if they decide to launch themselves into this kind of career it will be a good thing for music,” says, but after hesitating adds, “For my part, although I do not regret what I did, I’d prefer that my daughter takes the time to learn, and, especially, to live her childhood thoroughly.”

[Via People Mag]

I like this part a lot – “I hate, for example, whenever you hear someone say: ‘You have work at being a couple.’ No, you have to want to be there.” That’s profound. For real. And while I think relationships/marriages DO take work (what would I know, though?), I do think that there’s a fundamental decision: “Do I want to be here? Does the other person want to be here?” It goes along with, “Is this something worth fighting for?”

Photos courtesy of Marie Claire France.

Johnny Depp has gotten an easy ride the past few weeks. Immediately before Katie Holmes ripped out Xenu’s heart (and ATE it), Depp and Vanessa Paradis’s split was all we could talk about. What went wrong? Did he cheat? Is he a drunk going through a mid-life crisis? Did Vanessa “nag” him into leaving? Did she always want more, more, MORE? Well, it seems like Team Depp’s take was “Johnny had to leave Vanessa because she was driving him crazy because she was so demanding and crazy, and that’s why he had to sleep with Amber Heard.” Team Paradis… well, Vanessa didn’t have much to say. But I’m assuming her side of the story was something along the lines of “We have two children together and you’re going to leave the relationship like this?” Since their split left the tabloid covers, it seems like Depp and Paradis have been reorganizing and reviewing everything. Johnny flew to France last week, and now the UK tabloids claim that he’s enjoying a “family vacation” with his kids AND with Vanessa. So now they could be getting back together?

He was reported to have moved on to a younger woman following the announcement of his split from Vanessa Paradis last month but Johnny Depp seems to have had a change of heart. The actor has flown to his home in the South of France for a family holiday with Vanessa, 39, and their two children, Lily-Rose, 13 and nine-year-old Jack.

While the couple had agreed to keep a cordial relationship for the sake of their kids, it appears as if Johnny has now decided he wants more. Instead of spending his break from filming The Lone Ranger in New Mexico with rumoured new girlfriend Amber Heard, he rushed to see Vanessa and presented her with an antique gold pendant inscribed with a message about how he will always love her.

A friend told The Sun ‘They are having a family holiday to show the kids they are still a strong family even if those two are split or not. But the fact he presented her with such a touching gift, it’s almost as if they could make another go of things. Johnny wants to be with his family, he’s a very family oriented man, his kids mean everything to him.’

The couple needs to spend time together with their kids away from the distractions of Hollywood, according to the friend and they decided on France where they have spent some of their happiest times.

[From The Mail]

Eh. I mean, it’s great that they can still enjoy each other’s company and that a family vacation doesn’t have to end in hair-pulling, tears and retribution. But I think reconciliation probably isn’t in the works…? It’s more likely (in my mind) that Vanessa and Johnny are just trying to act like adults and spend some quality time with their kids. But… if Vanessa does end up taking him back, that would be very interesting, wouldn’t it?

Photos courtesy of Fame, WENN.

We have new photos of both Vanessa Paradis and Amber Heard this morning. The photos of VP are from her latest film premiere at the Paris Cinema Festival last night. The photos of Amber are from her trip to the Western Costume Co. in Burbank with a friend yesterday. Amber has been getting photographed by the paparazzi more often lately – and it’s all because of the Johnny Depp situation. Some of you think Amber (and Johnny, to a certain extent) are playing the media, and getting more attention with the “Amber and Johnny had a torrid affair” storyline, and that the whole thing might be false. Some of you think Amber and Johnny were and are boning, and he’s been boning other women along the way too. Whatever is going on, I still don’t know. I tend to believe that Johnny was screwing Amber (and others) behind Vanessa’s back. The tabloids claim that’s how Vanessa feels about it too – and a British tabloid even goes so far as to claim that VP has labeled Amber a “man-stealing nobody”. Damn, ladies.

She’s had a difficult few weeks after claims that she’s the reason for Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’ split. So it’s no surprise that Amber Heard struggled to raise a smile as she stepped out in Burbank, California, yesterday. The 26-year-old actress looked downcast in a white linen shirt and black maxi skirt as she was spotted leaving the Western Costume Co alongside a female friend.

However, Amber’s sombre mood is perhaps understandable considering claims that Vanessa has labelled her a ‘man-stealing nobody’ following her reported relationship with Depp.

Vanessa is said to have told friends she is determined that Amber, who was first linked to Depp when the pair starred together in movie The Rum Diary, will not bond with the pair’s children, Lily-Rose and Jack.

A source told Now magazine: ‘Vanessa’s devastated that Johnny’s dumped her. She blames Amber and calls her a man-stealing, two-bit nobody and has vowed to not let her anywhere near their children.’

Vanessa and Depp announced their split last month following a 14-year relationship, causing reports of a romance between the actor and Amber to heat up.

According to reports, Amber, 26, has been a ‘regular visitor’ to the New Mexico set of The Lone Ranger where Depp has been shooting the movie. A source claims Depp is smitten by the Hitchcock blonde, and reportedly said:’ When I first saw Amber, it was like seeing an old-time movie star like Lauren Bacall.’

Whereas Amber described her role as his love interest in the film, The Rum Diary, as ‘the best experience of my life.’

Speaking about Depp she told Dazed magazine: ‘He’s such a wonderful presence; he is enigmatic and compelling and a true artist, seriously intelligent and incredibly sensitive. Everybody on set respects and likes him, which says a lot about an actor. It’s a grueling job at times and the stress level that everybody feels in the industry is intense – but it doesn’t affect Johnny. It seems like he has time to look everybody in the eye and I like that, it was wonderful to see.’

And following the claims, a source told Us Weekly magazine that the pair are ’100 per cent dating’, adding: ‘He treats her really well.’

Meanwhile, Vanessa was seen making her first post-split red carpet appearance at the premiere of her film Je me Suis Fait Tout Petit in Paris on Monday night. The actress flashed photographers a smile as she posed with her co-stars at the event, and looked groomed and effortlessly chic in jeans and heels with a black T-shirt, silk blazer and layered gold necklaces.

[From The Mail]

Eh. I dislike how Team Depp is trying to paint Vanessa into a French harpie-shrew, of course, but I also hate the fake-sympathy that Vanessa is getting from some tabloids, like they’re expecting her to become the French Jennifer Aniston or something. I don’t really think Vanessa “blames” Amber for “man-stealing”. I think Vanessa blames Johnny for being a drunk a—hole in the midst of a mid-life crisis. But… it wouldn’t surprise me if VP was trying to ensure that her kids didn’t have contact with Johnny’s piece-of-the-moment, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Vanessa did think that Amber is a “two-bit nobody”. She would be right – it’s not like Amber has some great body of work to fall back on. Right now everyone knows who she is because she’s allegedly the “other woman”.

Hey, French-speakers – can someone translate this for me: “Bitch, did I stutter?”

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Here are some new photos of Vanessa Paradis in Paris… at some point. The photos are dated from the weekend, but WENN has thrown them up like they’re new, so I don’t know. She was at the Paris Cinema Festival for the premiere of her new film, Je Me Suis Fait Tout Petit. CB and I were debating what was different about Vanessa – I think VP has gained a little bit of weight (like, two pounds) and she got a great blowout. Maybe it’s just makeup? We don’t know. VP looks good, though. This was Vanessa’s first public appearance since everything was announced with the official split and the subsequent “Team Depp says Vanessa is a ballbuster and that’s why Johnny had to bone Amber Heard” campaign. The tabloids are still trying to figure out how long Vanessa and Johnny have been having problems – The Enquirer claims that Vanessa thinks Johnny was boning Amber Heard back in 2009, when Johnny and Amber first filmed The Rum Diary. Us Weekly has made it sound like Vanessa and Johnny have basically been split up since 2010. Basically, it’s a mess.

Also: Here are some photos of Lily-Rose Depp shopping with a nanny and a bodyguard in West Hollywood over the weekend. Lily-Rose is 13 years old – she turned 13 in May. I’m not trying to be harsh or judgy, but I do have to say… my mother would have never let me out of the house in this outfit when I was 13 years old. The exposed bra is one thing – and maybe I would give this a “meh” if it was just the exposed, red bra (why does a 13-year-old need a red bra, though?). But the exposed bra with the booty shorts cut all the way up that high? No. I’m not saying it’s Johnny’s fault and not Vanessa’s or vice versa. Maybe they’re co-parenting successfully and they’re just tired of fighting Lily-Rose on her clothes, because God knows, teenagers can put up one hell of a fight. And considering Vanessa and Johnny’s on-going drama, maybe the parental debate over their daughter’s clothes has fallen through the cracks. But one of them needs to put their foot down about this, right?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

All we’ve been talking about for the past week is the Katie Holmes-Tom Cruise divorce. Okay, it’s not ALL we’ve been discussing, but other “important” gossip stories have definitely been pushed to the wayside. Are you wondering what’s going on with Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis? You’re in luck! The Enquirer has two interesting stories, both of them centering around how Vanessa Paradis is dealing. First up: Vanessa is “mending her broken heart” with Kravitz dong. God, I hope this is true:

In the wake of her split with Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis is mending her broken heart with help from her ex-beau Lenny Kravitz. Vanessa dated Kravitz back in the early 1990s, but they stayed in touch during her 14 years with Depp, sources say.

“Before Vanessa met Johnny, Lenny was the love of her life,” a family friend told The Enquirer. “Although their romance didn’t last long, they remained close friends over the years and she didn’t hesitate to call him.”

After Vanessa and Johnny split, Vanessa leaned on Kravitz, with sources claiming, “Vanessa has been calling Lenny over the past few months while she and Johnny have been on the rocks. She needed to talk to someone who would understand and not make any judgments. She knew Lenny would be there for her, and he told Vanessa to reach out to him whenever she felt low. Vanessa usually calls Lenny in tears, but by the time they hang up an hour or two later, she’s in much better spirits and even laughing.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

You know who else Lenny soothed right after a bad breakup? Nicole Kidman! Do you remember that? Lenny and Nicole dated in 2003 – it was a “summer romance” that extended through the better part of a year. Lenny sure goes in for the kill when a woman is good and vulnerable, huh?

Meanwhile, the other Depp-Paradis story is kind of blah – it’s all about Vanessa being “absolutely distraught” upon realizing how far Johnny’s affair with Amber Heard had gone. Vanessa knew something was up between Amber and Johnny during their promotion of The Rum Diary (when Johnny and Amber were photographed looking very friendly), but sources say “Vanessa can’t believe that Amber was most likely in the picture as far back as 2009” – which is when Johnny was filming The Rum Diary. Vanessa feels like “Johnny walked out on their family” and “she’ll never forgive him.” Oh, and Vanessa allegedly sent Amber a message through their respective management teams – Vanessa ordered Amber to stay away from children Lily-Rose and Jack. Vanessa “doesn’t want them anywhere near Amber… she’s told Johnny her wishes, but rumors are flying that Johnny’s so obsessed with Amber that she gets away with murder. He’s even fired two of his assistants in the past four months for not keeping up with her demands.”

Oh, and beyond that, some of you Johnny-Amber deniers had a field day with those photos last week of Amber having a photo-op with her (ex?) girlfriend Taysa van Ree. The Enquirer says that the photo-op wasn’t about romance – “Amber couldn’t wait to tell Tasya all about Johnny!”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Ever since the tabloids began claiming that Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were in the midst of some kind of torrid affair, naysayers have fallen back on the “But she’s a lesbian!” argument. Except, as I’ve noted before, Amber doesn’t self-identify as gay. She’s said before that she’s had relationships with men and women, which makes her a bisexual in my book (I keep a book on these matters). The naysayers also claimed that Amber could not be boning Johnny because she was involved with a woman, Tasya van Ree, for several years spanning Amber’s friendship with Johnny. Well… here’s one question answered. In Touch (via Starpulse) claims that Amber and Tasya are over. And they’ve been over for a while.

Actress Amber Heard has split from her girlfriend, according to a report. The blonde beauty started dating artist Tasya van Ree in 2008, when she ‘came out’ as a lesbian at gay rights advocate GLAAD’s 25th anniversary bash.

Nevertheless, Heard and van Ree reportedly went their separate ways earlier this year. A source tells In Touch magazine, “They are no longer in a relationship.”

The split fuels rumors linking Heard to her The Rum Diary co-star Johnny Depp, who confirmed earlier this month that he and longtime partner Vanessa Paradis had broken up after 14 years.

[Via Starpulse]

So… Amber and Tayse were done earlier this year. I always thought the Depp-and-Heard stories had some merit, and this helps solidify it in my mind. I’m not saying that Johnny left Vanessa Paradis for Amber, or that Amber left Tayse for Johnny. Quite the contrary – I think Johnny has been fooling around with lots of women, and lord knows who Amber’s been hitting up. But I do think they had something. And maybe they still do. In addition to that, E! News confirmed a story that originated in the British tabloids – Johnny bought Amber a horse! E! News has a source who claims that Johnny bought Amber a horse so “Heard can join him on the trails” in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado where he’s filming The Lone Ranger. Hm.

Plus, I got the chance to read Us Weekly’s full cover story on the Depp-Paradis situation – we discussed parts of it yesterday. Us Weekly’s sources really do come out and verify that Depp fooled around with “an extra” on POTC: On Stranger Tides named Antoinette Kalaj, although her rep denies it. A source claims that Johnny “would fly her on his jet to meet him.” Eh. Us Weekly also says Amber was one of his conquests. A source says Amber and Johnny have been hooking up for months and “he’s smitten by her.” The claim is that Johnny and Amber didn’t sleep together until the publicity tour for The Rum Diary began last year, and that they’re still seeing each other now with a source confirming, “They are 100 percent dating. He treats her really well.” Johnny has also been hitting the booze. Hard.

Johnny and Vanessa’s bickering led to vicious wars. “They’d have blazing fights,” says a friend. “Vanessa would take her frustrations out on him.” Depp, in turn, reached for the bottle. “He started to drink heavily,” says the friend. The booze only ratcheted up the screaming matches. Says a source, “Vanessa wanted him to change and stop drinking.”

Meanwhile, Johnny was only concerned with shielding his children from his pain. “Rather than be in a dark and brooding mood around his kids, he would disappear to London and NYC. He wouldn’t contact Vanessa because he knew she’d give him hell. It broke Johnny’s heart that the family he loves so much was becoming fractured. For a time, he hoped they’d work it out.”

[Via Us Weekly, print edition]

There’s a lot of pity-poor Johnny stuff in there, but I did find one detail interesting. The entire gist is that it was VANESSA and not Johnny who wanted out, and that Vanessa was pushing the whole split, ever since 2010 basically. Allegedly, Vanessa told Johnny in 2010 that she wanted out for good, but they “agreed the kids’ lives shouldn’t be affected. That’s why they didn’t announce it.”

Photos of Johnny and Amber, and Amber and Tayse, courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

LaineyGossip has a great exclusive on Us Weekly’s cover story this week, all about what “really” went down in Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’s marriage. I didn’t realize that Johnny was BFFs with the publisher of Us Weekly, Jann Wenner, until Lainey pointed it out. People Magazine, Star, the Enquirer, In Touch and Radar have all been doing “exclusives” revealing Johnny’s womanizing propensities and full-blown mid-life crisis, and now – with Us Weekly – we have the sanctioned Team Depp response. Although I’m not sure how this makes Johnny into the sympathetic one, since they’re pretty much saying Depp did in fact screw around with various women when he was still with Vanessa. Some highlights, via Lainey:

*Vanessa was so horrible and Johnny was so miserable that Johnny started drinking and he strayed with other women including “allegedly, an extra on the set of Pirates Of The Caribbean” (the last one). He also maybe fooled around with Eva Green, Amber Heard, his publicist and God knows who else (this is Depp’s official version, remember).

*Vanessa wanted to break up 2 years ago because she was unhappy – Vanessa “complained all the time about their low key lifestyle. She didn’t want to stay on a private island and quietly raise their babies. She was bored and restless. V was the one who wanted to move to LA and that’s when it all unravelled.”

*Vanessa “was the one who insisted that he make big budget Disney movies because she loved the money. Johnny wasn’t interested but only did them for her.” Then, when Johnny became the biggest movie star in the world, Vanessa resented his success.

*A source says, :“Nothing Johnny did was ever good enough for Vanessa. When he was working, she wasn’t happy. And when he wasn’t working, he was called a slob for not doing enough for the kids and her family.”

[Via LaineyGossip]

It’s pretty typical blame-the-woman stuff, and I find the most appalling part is that Vanessa is blamed for Depp’s career trajectory away from smaller, artsy films to big blockbusters. Please. HE was the one who liked the money – that’s always been clear. He loves the money, he loves all the toys he can buy, and he loves being on his own. I understand the need to get “his side” out there, but surely Team Depp knows that blaming Vanessa for everything won’t win them any fans? Or maybe it will.

Anyway, Radar/Star is still claiming that Johnny and Amber Heard have been involved for quite a while. A source told Star, “Johnny’s been smitten with Amber for a long time… [when they started filming together in 2009,] with both of them having wild, bohemian streaks, their chemistry was off the charts!” Meanwhile, Johnny is said to be spending a lot of time with English actress Ruth Wilson, on and off the set of The Lone Ranger. You know who Ruth Wilson is, right? She’s a very talented stage, television and film actress who is currently dating Jude Law. Jude Law versus Johnny Depp: bitch-fight? Another source tells Radar/Star that Ruth is “an unconventional beauty who’s just Johnny’s type. They’ve discreetly been spending as much time together as possible — on and off the set.”

Ruth Wilson:

Johnny and Amber:

Photos courtesy of WENN.