"I felt like the most beautiful person in the world": Amber Heard testifies about how she fell in love with Johnny Depp during early days of their relationship 

American actress Amber Heard opened up about falling "head over heels in love" with her ex-husband Johnny Depp while testifying during Depp's defamation trial against her.

The 36-year-old actress and the 58-year-old star began dating after filming 2011's film The Rum Diary together, which Heard described as "felt like a dream."

While talking on the stand, she said:

"I felt like this man knew me, saw me, in a way no one else had. When I was around Johnny I felt like the most beautiful person in the world. It made me feel seen. It made me feel like a million dollars."

She said the duo began "secretly dating" since Depp's breakup from Vanessa Paradis was not yet public.

"We were in a bubble of secrecy."

From 1999 through 2012, Depp and Paradis were married for 14 years. They share two children - Lily-Rose (22) and Jack (20).

During the filming of The Rum Diary, Heard claimed that she and Depp were both in relationships. She said they didn't start dating until they were on the road for the film's publicity tour.

Later in 2015, the former couple married. Amber Heard filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Depp in May 2016, accusing him of beating her. The former couple negotiated an out-of-court settlement in August 2016 after Depp denied the charges.

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Johnny Depp said he tried his best not to "fail" in his marriage with Amber Heard.

During his testimony last week, Depp stated that despite their disputes and alleged abuse, he persisted in the marriage with Heard because "I didn't want to fail."

Adding to this, he said:

"I wanted to try to make it work. I thought maybe I could help her. I thought maybe I could bring her around. Because the Amber Heard that I knew for the first year, year and a half was not this, suddenly this opponent. It wasn't my girl, she had become my opponent."

Depp is suing Amber Heard for defamation for an op-ed she published for The Washington Post in 2018 on surviving domestic abuse, even though she never mentioned Depp by name. The $50 million lawsuits was first filed by the Pirates of the Caribbean star in March 2019.

Depp has stated that his "goal is the truth" as he seeks to clear his reputation in the trial, broadcasting live on many platforms. Under oath, Depp has stated that he has never hit Heard or any other woman.

Ahead of the trial, Amber Heard said in a statement that:

"Hopefully when this case concludes, I can move on and so can Johnny. I have always maintained a love for Johnny and it brings me great pain to have to live out the details of our past life together in front of the world."

Depp lost his widely publicized U.K. libel action against British newspaper The Sun for labeling him a "wife-beater" in November 2020. The court judged the outlet's allegations to be "substantially true," Heard testified to back up the assertions. In March 2021, his petition to overturn the decision was denied.