During an interview on the cover of Harper’s BAZAAR’s July 2022 digital issue, Winona Ryder recently spoke up about her previous romance with Johnny Depp. When she was 17, the Stranger Things actress began dating Depp. The couple had a whirlwind affair that ended in 1993. Ryder characterized her divorce from Depp as her “my Girl, Interrupted real-life moment” in a recent interview, alluding to her 1999 film about mental health difficulties.
Following the breakup, the actress recounted production for the 1994 thriller The House of the Spirits and how she struggled to cope with her emotions:
“I recall portraying a character who is tormented in a Chilean jail [in the 1994 film The House of the Spirits].” When I looked at the phony bruises and wounds on my face from the shoot, it was difficult for me to imagine myself as this young kid.”
johnny depp and winona ryder <3 pic.twitter.com/OwSpmf7TMG
— za! (@UsuallyJD) June 28, 2022
Winona Ryder also claimed that after the separation, she discovered she wasn’t taking care of herself:
“‘Would you treat this girl the way you treat yourself?” I remember staring in the mirror and thinking, ‘This is what I’m doing to myself on the inside.’ Because I was just not taking care of myself.”
The new allegation comes after Ryder discussed Depp with Time magazine during his current court fight with Amber Heard. She said at the time that Depp was never violent to her throughout their relationship:
“I can only speak from my personal experience, which was far different from what was said.” He was never like that towards me. He was never abusive to me. I just know him as a genuinely kind, loving, caring man who is fiercely protective of the people he cares about.”
Ryder also said that she began dating Depp when she was young and spent four years with him and that the allegations against the actor stunned her:
“Look, it’s been a long time, but we were together for four years, and that was a significant relationship for me.” Imagine if someone you dated when you were 17 — I was 17 when I met him — was accused of doing anything like that. It’s just shocking. I’ve never seen him act aggressively against anybody.”
During a recent interview, Winona Ryder said that her divorce from Depp was “extremely private,” and that those days retain a “place in her heart.”
An examination of Winona Ryder’s relationship with Johnny Depp.
In the 1990s, Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp were one of Hollywood’s most popular couples. The couple originally met at the New York City premiere of the 1989 film Great Balls of Fire! and allegedly went on a date two months later. While speaking to the Rolling Stones in 1991, Depp characterized their encounter as “love at first sight.”
“I was going to get a Coke.” It was a classic look, similar to the zoom lenses in West Side Story, and everything else became fuzzy.”
The couple allegedly became engaged a few months after their first date and co-starred in the 1990 picture Edward Scissorhands. Depp also got a tattoo that says “Winona Forever” in honor of his fiancée. In an interview with Cinema, Winona Ryder said that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was her first true love:
“With Johnny, I experienced my first true relationship, a ferociously profound love that I don’t think I’ll ever have again.” Isn’t that how first loves are? I’m not sure today. Back then, it was a crazy time.” Unfortunately, Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder broke off their engagement in 1993 after almost four years of dating. Following their breakup, the former even altered his tattoo to “Wino Forever.”
