Johnny Depp is off the market!
As we reported on Thursday, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor has officially linked up with his former lawyer, Joelle Rich, who was part of his team for his UK libel case against The Sun in 2020. The trial may not have worked out in their favor, but he walked away with sparks flying apparently!
Joelle came out of the blue after fans already began shipping the actor with his current lawyer, Camille Vasquez (who has denied romance rumors). Now, it’s time to do a deep dive on the woman who really caught Johnny’s eye!
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Londoner
Joelle comes from across the pond! She grew up in England, where she still lives. According to her LinkedIn, she attended secondary school at the historic North London Collegiate School in Edgware, England, which is an “independent day school for girls aged 4-18.” From there, she studied law at the University of Birmingham from 2003-2006. Once she graduated, she continued her education at BPP Law School where she specialized in Media and Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Commercial and Private Acquisitions.
Partner In Law
Joelle is currently a partner at her London-based law firm, Schillings, and it sounds like she’s very well-respected in her field! Her company profile boasts:
“She 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. A highly experienced litigator, Joelle’s objective is to use the law to ensure that her clients are protected from arbitrary interference into their personal or business lives.”
It also states:
“[She] works to defend [clients’] reputations against false and defamatory allegations in print, online and on social media.”
Too bad she didn’t win Depp’s UK case, though! Interestingly, Johnny’s not the most high-profile client her firm has represented! Schillings also represented Meghan Markle in her victorious case against the publishers of Mail on Sunday in 2021.
Married
Perhaps the biggest shocker of all: she’s still married! According to Us Weekly, who first broke the news, she was married when she met the Fantastic Beasts alum but is currently separated. At this time, it does not appear like a divorce has been finalized.
What’s the holdup? It’s unclear, but it could be the fact that she and her ex reportedly share two children! Whenever kids are involved, splits are inevitably more complicated! Johnny is also a father of two, so we bet they connected over parenting! The performer shares daughter Lily-Rose Depp, 23, and son Jack Depp, 20, with ex Vanessa Paradis.
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Team Johnny
It remains unclear how long the pair have been dating, but Joelle has surely gone out of her way to be supportive of her new man over the last few months! While she was not helping out during his US trial against Amber Heard, she was spotted in the Fairfax County, Virginia court house several times, specifically in May. Love it!
Privacy First!
Joelle and Johnny may be the talk of the town right now, but don’t expect to get much insight into their romance from them! From the looks of it, Joelle is very private when it comes to her personal life. A quick look at her private Instagram account shows she only has around 200 followers. But those in her inner circle do seem to get an active look at her life since she has 1,256 posts on her page. Wonder if JD will pop up anytime soon??
For now, it remains a bit unclear just how committed the couple is! Us Weekly reported their “chemistry is off the charts” and that they are very “serious,” while People’s insider insisted it’s “not serious.” Either way, hopefully, it’s a healthy and happy relationship for them both.
Reactions, Perezcious readers?! Let us know (below)!
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
