Johnny Depp and Joelle Rich ‘were dating’ during Amber Heard court battle but ‘AREN’T exclusive’ 

Johnny Depp and his London lawyer girlfriend Joelle Rich “were dating” during his US trial against Amber Heard this summer – but “are not exclusive,” sources linked to the couple have claimed.

They added that Schillings attorney Rich was not involved in his legal defense and was not present for business reasons, but that Depp is not currently looking for a serious relationship.

The 59-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star won a defamation battle against Amber Heard in June over her 2018 article for The Washington Post, in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence.

Heard, 36, must pay Depp more than $8 million in damages.

Sources have now told TMZ that Depp was dating his former attorney Joelle Rich during the trial this summer, saying they were “very much” an item.

But the TMZ source said, “He’s f*****g Johnny Depp,” meaning he has no plans to settle down with just one partner yet.

The latest news seems to confirm previous speculation that the two were together at trial over the summer.

They said Joelle, a 37-year-old mother of two, left her children and her estranged husband in the UK while supporting Depp in his Virginia trial.

The Mail was previously told by a source that: “She was not there in a professional capacity because she was not on the US team handling the case.

“There was a big American legal team and she wasn’t part of it. Let’s just say it was obvious that something was in the air between them.

“Everyone felt it a little bit during the trial because of the behavior on both sides.”

Sources have now told TMZ that Depp was dating his former attorney Joelle Rich during the trial this summer, saying the couple was “very much” an item.

Joelle’s friends said she “went off the radar” in June when she was not in London. The attorney was not part of Depp’s legal team and was reportedly absent from this year’s trial for business reasons.

Joelle’s friends said she “went off the radar” in June when she was suddenly out of London.

The move confused many as Rich only moved into her £1million home in north London with husband Jonathan Rich, a financier, about a year ago.

Ms Rich and her husband Jonathan are now reportedly in the process of a divorce.

The lawyer reportedly in a ‘serious’ relationship with Johnny Depp was pictured next to him more than two years ago during his libel suit at London’s High Court

The photos taken at the time showed them laughing, chatting and looking relaxed in each other’s company during the actor’s fateful lawsuit in July 2020

Ms Rich was part of Depp’s legal team in the High Court in her role as a partner for leading London privacy lawyers Schillings, whose clients include Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.

Footage of those who arrived at the court together more than two years ago in the fight against Supreme Court defamation shows them smiling and talking together.

The photos, taken on the fifth day of the trial on July 13, 2020, showed Ms Rich seemingly staring at Depp as they exited court together.

Joelle Rich attended North London Collegiate School, an independent girls’ day school with a fee of £22,308 a year.

She studied law at the University of Birmingham in 2003 – where she is said to have met her husband – and worked at DLA Piper before joining Schillings in 2011.