Johnny Depp's Ex-Girlfriend Joelle Rich Was Still Married When They Dated
Folks keeping a close eye on Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's defamation trial in 2022 were convinced that the actor and his lawyer, Camille Vasquez, were an item. The pair spurred romance rumors as she couldn't stop praising him and a photo of them hugging after their big win went viral. Even a headline-making clip showing Vasquez (accidentally) calling her client an "abuser" couldn't squash rumors of a personal union. Indeed, viewers just kept on wondering what was really going on between Depp and Vasquez – until she set the record straight. Speaking with People that June, Vasquez shut down claims that she and Depp were an item and slammed them as sexist. "I guess it comes with the territory of being a woman just doing her job," she mused, but admitted that being romantically linked to a client and friend was hurtful. "It's disappointing that certain outlets kind of ran with it or said that my interactions with Johnny ... were inappropriate or unprofessional," she told the mag.
Interestingly, later that same year it was revealed that the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star actually was dating someone from his legal team, it just wasn't who everyone thought. Turns out, Depp had a relationship with his British lawyer, Joelle Rich, who was still legally married to her university sweetheart, Jonathan Rich, when she and her client first got together. Here's a look inside Johnny Depp's headline-making relationship with Joelle Rich.
Inside Johnny Depp's romance with Joelle Rich
In September 2022, People confirmed that Johnny Depp had started dating Joelle Rich, a British lawyer who worked on his 2020 libel case against The Sun. In the suit, Depp argued that an article dubbing him "wife beater" was slanderous and sought compensation, but ultimately lost. The ordeal did give him a new partner, though. While one source told People, "They are dating but it's not serious," another painted a different picture. "Their chemistry is off the charts," an insider told Us Weekly. "It's serious between them." Indeed, while Rich didn't represent Depp in his 2022 defamation case, she did show up at the Virginia courtroom to support him.
Serious or not, the union seemed to be a good match. "He is dating and genuinely seems happy," a source told People, noting that while the trial didn't paint Depp in a positive light, Rich supported him nonetheless. As for Depp, he wasn't bothered by the fact that Rich, a mom of two, was still married. In September 2022, The Telegraph learned that Rich had just separated from her husband, Jonathan Rich (a director at Bluebox Corporate Finance Group), whom she married in 2011. The outlet also discovered that the pair had met while studying at the University of Birmingham and dated for eight years before tying the knot in Tuscany, Italy in front of 290 guests. But despite her eventual separation, Rich and Depp didn't last and called it quits just a few months later in November 2022, per People.
Who is Joelle Rich?
Johnny Depp wasn't Joelle Rich's first famous client. Back in 2020, she actually represented Meghan Markle when the duchess sued the Mail on Sunday for publishing a handwritten letter she had sent to her father. That time, Rich won and was profiled in The Law Society Gazette in 2021. Speaking of the difficulties the case presented, she shared, "It's the media's job to argue in favor of freedom of expression above all other rights.” That meant she had to keep an exceptionally close eye on the press. "A good sound bite for a headline isn't always put into context, so we had to keep on top of anything misleading," she recalled. She also shared how she first got into law, noting, "I enjoyed maths most at school, and I wanted to keep that aspect of complex problem-solving in my career." Law provided that and so, she pursued a law degree at the University of Birmingham, per LinkedIn.
As of 2023, Rich was a partner at London's Schillings, a firm focused on breaches of privacy, defamation, and security. According to her official bio, Rich specializes in media law and has represented individuals, as well as companies, in lawsuits involving libel, privacy, and copyright. As she explains on her LinkedIn profile, "I defend [clients'] reputations against false and defamatory allegations in print, online, and on social media and have particular expertise in protecting individuals' privacy from unwarranted intrusion and media attention."