Johnny Depp is dating the lawyer who represented him in a libel trial against a tabloid newspaper.
The Hollywood actor, 59, struck up a relationship with Joelle Rich, 37, who works as a partner at law firm Schillings.
The firm represented Mr Depp when he unsuccessfully took the tabloid to court for libel in 2020 over an article which branded him a "wife beater" when he was married to actress Amber Heard.
Ms Rich, a mother-of-two who is understood to be going through a divorce, was assigned to the case.
The pair regularly arrived at the High Court in a car together during the three-week trial, during which Mr Justice Nicol heard evidence of 14 alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp
The judge said 12 had been proved, and ruled against Mr Depp, but then Ms Rich was involved in an appeal against the verdict.
She wrote a statement to the Court of Appeal, outlining that Ms Heard's claim that she donated her divorce settlement to charity was untrue, but that it was accepted in court at face value.
The court dismissed the appeal.
The celebrity marriage, which ended in 2017, was the subject of two lawsuits filed by Mr Depp.
The first was filed in 2018 against the tabloid newspaper, and the second was filed a year later against Ms Heard herself after an article she wrote in The Washington Post in which she described herself as a victim of domestic violence.
The High Court in London ruled against Mr Depp and in favour of newspaper, whilst a jury in the US sided with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, who was awarded more than $10million in damages, to be paid by Ms Heard.
Ms Rich was not part of Mr Depp's legal team in his most recent court appearance - the defamation case with his ex-wife Ms Heard.
But Ms Rich was in the courtroom in Virginia to show her "support" for the Oscar nominee, the magazine US Weekly reported.
A source told the publication: "There was no professional obligation for her being there. It was personal. It’s serious between them. They are the real deal."
Ms Rich qualified as a solicitor in 2010 whilst with firm DLA Piper before moving to Schillings a year later.
She has remained with the international law firm since then - and has worked for them for more than 11 years.
On her LinkedIn page, she describes herself as a specialist in "helping people and companies in the public eye protect their privacy and reputations, mainly at times of crisis. I regularly handle media attention during particularly sensitive and unpredictable periods".
She adds: "As well as high profile individuals, I regularly act for family offices, private companies, and entrepreneurs. My objective is to use the law to ensure that my clients are protected from arbitrary interference into their personal or business lives, and that they are able to enjoy their success."
