Johnny Depp testifying during the defamation case he filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard
Johnny Depp testifying during the defamation case he filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard POOL via AFP / Steve Helber

KEY POINTS

  • Johnny Depp and Joelle Rich were first romantically linked in September
  • Some reports said at the time that their relationship was not "serious"
  • Rich represented the actor in his U.K. libel lawsuit

Johnny Depp is single again as his brief romance with lawyer Joelle Rich has come to end, a report says.

Depp and Rich, who represented him in his U.K. libel lawsuit, are no longer seeing each other, People confirmed.

An unnamed source told the outlet back in September that the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star and the London attorney were "dating, but it's not serious."

Rich was a member of Depp's legal team when he sued British tabloid The Sun over an article that called him a "wife beater." The "Fantastic Beasts" actor lost the case in November 2020 after a court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and his ex-wife Amber Heard testified to back up the claims. Depp's attempt to overturn the decision was overruled in March 2021.

Rich was not one of his lawyers in this year's defamation case against the "Aquaman" actress in Fairfax County, Virginia. Depp won that case in June after a jury found that Heard defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence, though she did not mention his name.

Depp was awarded more than $10 million in damages. Heard won one of her three defamation countersuits and was awarded $2 million. They are both now appealing the verdicts.

Though she was not part of his legal team for the case, Rich was present in the Virginia courtroom during the trial to show her support to the 59-year-old actor.

Rich was photographed giving Camille Vasquez, one of Depp's lawyers for the Virginia trial, a hug inside the courtroom on May 16. Rich later was seen exiting the courthouse with Depp and his team on May 19.

"There was no professional obligation for her being there," an unnamed insider told Us Weekly in September. "It was personal."

The source claimed at the time that the pair's relationship was "serious" and that "their chemistry is off the charts." Depp and Rich "discreetly" met up in hotels before their romance went public, according to the source.

"They are the real deal," the insider added.

Meanwhile, Depp's legal battle against Heard continues. On Wednesday, his lawyers filed to appeal Heard's counterclaim win, pushing for the decision to be overturned.

Depp's legal team called Heard's counterclaim "erroneous" and argued that the actor should not be held liable for comments made by his attorney, Adam Waldman.

The comments were made by Waldman to the Daily Mail and published on April 27, 2020. Waldman claimed that Heard and her friends set up Depp by calling the cops with a "hoax" of abuse claims back in 2016. The jury found that Waldman was acting as an agent for Depp when he made the statement.

Depp's lawyers argued that "Mr. Waldman is an independent contractor, whose allegedly tortious conduct is not automatically attributable to Mr. Depp," and that "no evidence of Mr. Waldman's actual malice was presented at trial" by Heard's team.

Depp's team is seeking for the judgment to be overturned while the other counts that were in the actor's favor are upheld.

Heard also filed to appeal the verdict back in July.

US actor Johnny Depp waves during a break in the defamation case filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard
US actor Johnny Depp waves during a break in the defamation case filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard POOL via AFP / Shawn THEW