Amber Heard Quietly Quit Hollywood and Made a Big Move After Losing Johnny Depp Defamation Trial

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.

Amber Heard bid adieu to the glitzy world of Hollywood and moved to Madrid, Spain, along with her daughter Oonagh Paige, after the end of the infamous trial against Johnny Depp, the Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff claimed in an article published earlier in 2023. According to the journalist, a friend of the Aquaman actress revealed, “She’s bilingual in Spanish and is happy there, raising her daughter away from all the noise.”

Heard's close friend also told the news outlet that the actress may one day return to the entertainment industry, though nothing was set in stone just yet. “I don’t think she is in any hurry to return to work or to Hollywood, but she will probably come back when the time is right, for the right project,” the friend explained. 

It was earlier reported that the Drive Angry actress sold her home in Yucca Valley, California, for $1.1 million — almost double the estimated $570,000 Heard paid for the Mojave Desert estate in 2019. Heard was also spotted on a beach in Majorca with her friend and now rumored ex-girlfriend Eve Barlow. Their alleged relationship came to an end in December 2022, and the British journalist posted an essay on Substack saying that she was 'searching for optimism at the end of a life-altering year.' Barlow added, "Today I was reminded of a beautiful passage from a Khalil Gibran poem about why strength has to be renourished and revitalized in ourselves, often alone." 

As of now, Heard has moved permanently to a new home outside Madrid with her two-year-old daughter, Oonagh. However, Heard can be seen as Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which was released in December 2023. She has also filmed the supernatural thriller In the Fire last year.

Heard's silent move to Spain comes nearly a year after she lost the defamation trial with her ex-husband. Depp had sued Heard for $50 million in 2019, claiming the Zombieland actress had fabricated claims about him abusing her only to 'obtain more money in their divorce settlement,' as per Page Six. One year later, Heard countersued him for $100 million. 

The trial came to an end in June 2022 with the court ordering Heard to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages plus $350,000 in punitive damages for defaming Depp in a 2018 op-ed piece she wrote for the Washington Post in which she claimed to have been a victim of sexual abuse. The piece was titled, "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” Heard later requested the judge to toss the jury’s verdict and process a retrial, claiming that the judgment wasn’t 'supported by evidence,' as per Variety.

If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

This article originally appeared 1 year ago.