Mike Marsland/WireImageThe question of whether Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were going to divorce quietly, becoming a negligible blip on the celebrity relationship radar, has been answered.
And while we're thoroughly aware by now that the pair had a tempestuous relationship—one that preceded them ever saying "I do"—Heard today revealed shocking allegations of domestic violence that, according to the 30-year-old actress, spanned the length of their entire relationship. Depp's attorney, meanwhile, has charged that Heard is alleging abuse for financial reasons.
Here is everything we know so far about the breakdown of their marriage, the legal implications and the particulars of these increasingly ugly proceedings:
May 22
Their date of separation, as cited in Heard's divorce petition, which she would file the following day.
May 23
Heard filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court after 15 months of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences and requesting that the court be allowed to award her spousal support, saying the valuation of certain property was yet to be determined. She also marked that she wanted Depp to cover her attorney fees.
Either while this was happening or just hours afterward, Depp appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and reappeared after a blushing Pink talked about how much she didn't want to meet Depp, because it would just be too much for her. The actor walked on for a quick hug, gave Kimmel the obligatory kiss on the mouth that's become their thing, and took off. His next stop was the Hollywood premiere, right down the street at the El Capitan Theatre, of Through the Looking Glass—the sequel to the $1 billion-plus-grossing Alice in Wonderland. Depp walked the carpet and chatted with E! News, not being any kookier than his normal quirky self. Even a scrutinizing re-watch of his response to a question about having more kids doesn't lead to any "a-ha!" revelations in hindsight.
He did, however, sound a little fuzzy on the details of Heard's next film project. But as we mentioned...nothing too out of the ordinary.
May 24
Depp played a gig at Turningstone Resort in Verona, N.Y., with his band Hollywood Vampires, whose other members include Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Alice Cooper.
May 25
TMZ was first to report that Heard has filed for divorce two days beforehand. The news wasn't exactly shocking for a variety of reasons, ranging from their 22-year age gap and the fact that Depp had relatively jumped into marriage after spending 14 years being not married to longtime partner Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children; to what E! News had previously been told about their entire relationship having been a series of highs and lows.
By the end of the day, Depp had filed his response, leaving their date of separation blank but checking that he wanted the court to terminate its right to award spousal support to Heard. He also checked off that he wanted them each to pay their own respective attorney fees.
Also Wednesday, Heard visited Tiffany in Beverly Hills and a source told E! News that she purchased a gift for Lily-Rose Depp, who turned 17 today. Another insider told E! News that Heard and Depp's daughter have become very close and the source expected the two to remain in each other's lives. (The information was passed on before today's turn of events in court.) "It was a loving environment," another source said, referring to Heard and Lily-Rose's relationship.
Depp took off for Europe for a scheduled tour with Hollywood Vampires. Perry shared a pic from their private jet and he and the band posted a number of pics ahead of their show tonight in Lisbon. Aside from showing up on Kimmel, Depp has no immediate U.S. talk show stops planned for Through the Looking Glass—which isn't his usual style, but he had already planned to sit out most of the promo tour on this one. He did join his castmates at a photo call and press conference in London on May 8—when he poked fun at the apology video he and Heard had to make for the Australian government after she was caught smuggling her dogs into the country when he was shooting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales—and he taped The Graham Norton Show in the U.K. And before all that, he showed up at Disneyland dressed as the Mad Hatter, to the delight of fans.
"The reactions were pure and very funny," Depp told E!'s Catt Sadler at Monday's premiere about his Disneyland experience. "I had a ball, for me it was like a couple of hours of improv."
May 26
A picture of Heard shopping made the rounds but it turned out to have been taken in late April, so at the time there had been no sightings yet of the Magic Mike XXL star. The Hollywood Vampires arrived in Lisbon.
Later in the day Depp's rep responded to the divorce filing, saying in a statement obtained by E! News, "Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life. Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly."
We're now hearing that Depp was already aware that a quick resolution was a very unlikely outcome.
May 27
Heard petitioned for—and was granted—a temporary restraining order against Depp, alleging that he had repeatedly physically and verbally abused her multiple times over the course of their relationship.
Just the very news that she had filed the paperwork brought to mind every past run-in with the law and any instance of erratic behavior, including times—such as the 2014 Hollywood Film Awards—when he seemed out of sorts in public.
Heard's declaration, with the filing obtained by E! News, includes a mention of his "long-held and widely acknowledged public and private history of drug and alcohol abuse," and describes him as having a "short fuse." She requests that he be required to enroll in anger management courses and a batterer's intervention program.
Depp's attorney, Laura Wasser, argued vehemently against the TRO in a counter-filing, pointing out that her client wasn't even in the country to begin with and he was willing to agree to "mutual stay-away and personal conduct orders," therefore there was no reason to bar him from his home.
"Amber is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse," the counter-file stated.
Heard, who went solo to the 2016 Met Gala on May 2 and was at the Cannes Film Festival last week, also states in the filing that Depp roughed her up after her birthday party at their L.A. penthouse on April 21 (he showed up just as the guests were leaving, she said) and then he stormed out and she didn't seem him again for a month.
She cites May 21 as the date of their last run-in at their penthouse, when her husband came home "inebriated and high." His mother having just passed away, Heard states that she was trying to comfort him when his mood changed "dramatically" and, after he started ranting incoherently, he grabbed her cell phone out of her hand, "wound up [his] arm like a baseball pitcher and threw the cell phone at me, striking my cheek and eye with great force." A declaration from a friend and neighbor supporting Heard's story was also included in the filing.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirms that a call was received on Saturday, May 21, by a third party who reported a domestic assault at the block in question. When officers arrived, they investigated the scene and spoke to the victim. A spokesperson tells E! News that the alleged victim decided not to file a report and police concluded no crime had occurred and left.
Heard had a visible bruise on her right cheek when she was photographed leaving court Friday.
A judge granted Heard sole use of one of units in the penthouse, but her request for $50,000 a month in spousal support based on their "marital lifestyle" is still pending.
A hearing on whether to extend the temporary order of protection is scheduled for June 17 at 8:30 a.m.
In what feels like a different universe, Depp attended a charity event in Lisbon with his bandmates before their concert tonight, which went on as planned. Hollywood Vampires are due next in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Romania, but don't have another U.S. show until July 1.
"I need to keep my mind and creativity going," Depp told us Monday about why he's back to focusing on music for awhile. The band is "an immediate...'gratification' is kind of the wrong word. It's an immediate response, you know, as soon as the music comes out of your hand."
Through the Looking Glass also opened in theaters today.
But as the plot thickens in real life, we've been told that Heard wants an investigation into Depp's behavior.
"This is not about right now," one source says. "It's an ongoing thing she needs protection from. She did what she had to to protect herself."