Johnny Depp confirms breakup with longtime girlfriend

CEBU, Philippines - Though the media had been speculating for months, Johnny Depp officially confirmed the news yesterday: He and Vanessa Paradis, his girlfriend of 14 years and the mother of his two children, have broken up. “Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis have amicably separated,” his publicist told “Entertainment Tonight” on Tuesday. “Please respect their privacy and, more importantly, the privacy of their children.”

Depp, 49 and Paradis, a 39-year-old French actress and singer, are parents to daughter Lily-Rose, 13, and son Jack, 10. They had been raising their family in the south of France throughout most of their relationship, but reportedly had recently moved to Los Angeles.

People magazine first reported in January that the couple was “living separate lives.” Indeed, Depp and Paradis hadn’t attended a red carpet event together in more than a year, and haven’t been seen in public together at all since the breakup reports began at the beginning of the year.

Still, as recently as last month, Depp denied the two were splitting. “The rumors are not true,” he told Britain’s The Sun at the London premiere of his latest film “Dark Shadows.” “They are absolutely not true.”

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star had previously had high-profile relationships with model Kate Moss, and actresses Sherilyn Fenn and Winona Ryder, to whom he was engaged for three years, and did actually tie the knot once – marrying make-up artist Lori Anne Allison when he was 20. The two got divorced less than three years later.

As for why he never made it official with Paradis, “I never found myself needing that piece of paper. Marriage is really from soul to soul, heart to heart. You don’t need somebody to say, okay you’re married ... but some people do, so that’s cool,” Depp told “Extra” in 2010. “If Vanessa wanted to get hitched, why not? But the thing is, I’d be so scared of ruining her last name. She’s got such a good last name. Paradis.”

And it sounds like she’ll definitely be keeping it.