Who was Amber Heard's 'wife'? Johnny Depp refers to actress' relationship with Tasya Van Ree during testimony
The legal fight between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard currently happening at a Virginia court is attracting worldwide attention. Depp has sued his former wife for $50 million claiming that she called him a domestic abuser in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post.
But the ‘Aquaman’ actress dismissed the claims and sued the actor with whom she was married for just 15 months for $100 million. As Hollywood’s real-life drama continues and both actors’ fans take sides, there are many who are also interested in knowing their dating history. Amid all this chaos, one name has apparently come out and that is Tasya Van Ree.
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Johnny Depp REVEALS the moment when his relationship with Amber Heard started deteriorating
In his testimony, Depp referred to Ree as Heard's "wife". Recalling his first meeting with the actress in 2012 on the set of 'The Rum Diary' as reported by Wion, the actor said that he didn't speak much with the 'Three Days To Kill' star until they filmed a shower scene. "She comes into the room and she opens the shower and we kiss," he said. "That moment was um it was a, yeah, it felt like, it felt like something that I shouldn’t be feeling because she had her wife...and I had Vanessa and the kiddies," he added.
Depp further revealed that he and Heard kissed each other again in his trailer later that day. But the duo did not continue the affair until they met two years later to promote the film, as per Wion. The actor said by that time, they had separated from their respective ex-partners.
Who is Tasya Van Ree?
Ree and Heard, who is a bisexual, were romantically involved in the past. The 45-year-old is a Hawaiian-born painter and photographer. Ree is also reportedly into making short films and has an Instagram following of more than 84K, where she posts about herself and her work.
The couple was in a legally binding domestic partnership, which they entered in 2008 since gay marriages were not legal at the time. According to HITC, a “domestic partnership, or ‘civil union’ as it’s also known, is similar to marriage and gives partners who are living together some of the legal benefits of marriage.”
However, Heard apparently thought of herself as married to Ree and even began using Amber Van Ree as her name. In 2010, the ‘Drive Angry’ star publicly come out as bisexual and said at GLAAD’s 25th-anniversary event, “I don’t label myself one way or another—I have had successful relationships with men and now a woman. I love who I love; it’s the person that matters. I think when I became aware of my role in the media, I had to ask myself an important question ‘Am I part of the problem?’ And I think that when millions and millions of hard-working, taxpaying Americans are denied their rights and denied their equality you have to ask yourself what are the factors that are an epidemic problem and that’s what this is.”
In 2011, after same-sex marriage became constitutional in New York, the two women reportedly threw a party. A source had said, “It was a private, intimate setting only with very close friends, and everyone was told it was completely secret.”
The insider also claimed, “Tasya and Amber were on and off towards the end of their relationship but didn’t really break up until late 2012, and there was definitely some crossover between her and Johnny for Amber’s affections. It says a lot that Amber didn’t change her name back as soon as she started dating Johnny. She still believed that she and Tasya could reconcile, but as things got more serious she knew she couldn’t wed with Tasya’s name,” before adding, “The girls remained close, even when Amber had moved on, and Tasya has always been a rock for the actress. They’ve been through a lot together. Their close friendship took its toll on Johnny and Amber’s relationship – he wasn’t used to not being the center of attention all the time.”