Johnny Depp Is Dating His Defamation Trial Lawyer: REPORT
Johnny Depp is back in the dating game.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star is reportedly dating lawyer Joelle Rich, who previously represented him in his 2020 U.K. defamation case.
An insider gave details about the alleged romance to Us Weekly. "Their chemistry is off the charts. It’s serious between them. They are the real deal," the source said.
The alleged couple met up "discreetly" in hotels in the early stages of their romance, according to the tabloid.
Rich, who is still married, is currently in the process of divorcing her husband.
Rich was not part of Depp's official legal team during his and ex-wife Amber Heard's defamation trial in the U.S. However, she did show her support for Depp by showing up in the courtroom, the insider claimed.
"There was no professional obligation for her being there. It was personal," the source alleged.
It's unclear when Depp and Rich began their reported relationship. Neither party has addressed the reports as of publishing.
Rich is currently a partner at London-based law firm Schillings.
According to her company bio, she is a "highly experience litigator" who "has a wealth of expertise in libel, privacy and copyright disputes, having recently been part of the team which won a major privacy and copyright case in the public eye, and having also led on a recent high-profile libel claim."
Depp's reported relationship with his former lawyer comes after the actor's fans previously shipped a relationship between him and his U.S. lawyer Camille Vasquez.
In 2022, he and Heard sued each other for defamation in the U.S. Both parties were found guilty of defamation during the trial.
Previously, Depp sued U.K. publication The Sun for referring to him as a "wife beater" following Heard's allegations of abuse. He lost the libel case in November 2020.