Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's 2015 wedding was a magical and romantic affair on his private island - miles (and years) removed from the aggressive and bitter showdown now taking place in a courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s ill-fated marriage now feels like it was destined to end up in the bitter court feud we see today.

It’s easy to forget this wasn’t always the case. In fact - at one point - they may have even quite liked each other.

Hollywood is hard to relate to. The lives of the people in its orbit move differently to the rest of us on the outside. Marriages are shorter and more volatile, friendships and rivalries are often based on very little - and children’s names are wayyy more unique.

But despite this, there are some things we know for sure about the Heard-Depp romance.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard did get engaged. They did get married in February 2015, before she filed for divorce just 15 months later.

A source told People that Depp was “madly in love” with his new wife. We also know a bit about the day itself and what it looked like.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s wedding pictures

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard tied the knot on Depp’s private Bahamas island, on the beach of Little Hall's Pond Cay.

Heard wore a white veil and a white long-sleeved gown. Depp, a white tuxedo with white shoes and black trousers.

Friends said the day was wonderful, a low-key celebration. Heard is even said to have done her own makeup, eschewing the usual Hollywood glam.

'Johnny's private island is a tropical paradise. Wedding guests were treated to an amazing weekend that ended with a romantic beach ceremony,” one told People magazine.

'Guests relaxed on the beaches, had fun snorkelling and enjoyed food cooked by private chefs. Everyone seemed to have the best time. It was a very celebratory vibe.

'The weather was perfect and the beach setting was gorgeous. The ceremony was beach casual and intimate, yet very romantic.'

Another insider told the Sunday Express at the time: 'There has been a genuine glow about them since Wednesday, when they officially became man and wife.

'They wanted to do it all again on the beach and… [celebrate] with friends because they love the island and want it to be a continuing part of their lives together.'

The two had got to know each other in 2011 on the set of The Rum Diary, an adaptation of the Hunter S Thompson novel of the same name.

Image: Bridgeman Images) Bridgeman Images)

The two were certainly once passionate. During the May 2022 libel trial, Depp said: “There was a scene where I’m taking a shower and then she comes into the room and she opens the shower and we kiss.

“And that moment was… it felt like something that I shouldn’t be feeling, because she had her wife and I had Vanessa [Paradis, Depp’s then-partner] and kiddies.”

But the future husband and wife connected on a more intellectual level, too.

While testifying, Depp said: 'She was attentive, she was loving, she was smart, she was kind, she was funny, she was understanding. We had many things in common.'

Heard gave a similar line in court.

'We talked about books and music, poetry. Obscure writers and interesting books and pieces of poetry I haven't heard anyone else know or reference or like,' she said.

Image: WireImage) WireImage)

By the time The Rum Diary premiered the two walked the red carpet arm-in-arm, with Depp splitting from his partner Vanessa Paradis less than a year later. Around 18 months after that, Heard was spotted with an engagement ring on her finger.

But reports have since claimed that for all the affection and love and guests' tales of romance, the tropical island wedding day was actually a wilder, more sinister affair.

In Johnny Depp's 2020 libel trial against the publisher of The Sun, the High Court heard that the day was actually something closer to resembling a disaster, with drugs and fighting dominating the nuptials.

Heard claimed: 'He had lost weight and he would disappear into the bathroom for long periods during the wedding.

'He was even more possessive than usual and he was just not making sense a lot of the time.

'I tried to smile through it and entertain our guests. But I had never felt more lonely in my life.'

Depp did admit there were drugs present at the wedding.