One of the most intriguing love stories that will forever be etched in Hollywood history would be Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder’s.
The Story Behind
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Depp and Ryder first met in 1989 at the “Great Balls of Fire premiere!” He was 26, while she was barely even 20 — 17, to be exact. Johnny was grabbing a soda when they locked gazes. Right there at that moment, even without speaking a word to each other, they fell in love.
After some months had passed, Ryder was dragged into Johnny’s hotel room in Chateau Marmont by a mutual friend. After all the drinks and talks, the quiet tension that had built up since they met finally burst. Depp asked Winona for a date, to which she immediately agreed.
For Ryder, their relationship felt like a whole beginning. She said he was her first real “boyfriend” – she had one before him. When asked, she answered that Johnny was her real first kiss, first sex, and even her first fiancé.
Though these experiences were not new for Depp, who had been married once and engaged twice, he still felt their relationship was special. “It was something I never felt before, I love her more than anything in the whole world,” he said.
Depp even got Ryder’s name inked on his arm, “Winona Forever,” a gesture which impressed her parents. It was known that Ryder’s parents were strict, but they loved and approved of Depp.
Then after only five months into dating, the couple got engaged and started living together. They were even ready to commit to each other and tie the knot, but that part never happened.
First, their friend and director of Hairspray, John Waters, who they wanted to officiate their wedding, refused. He thought Ryders was too young for the actor. Then came Depp’s alcohol and substance abuse problems.
In 1993, after four years together, their relationship hit rock bottom, and the two ultimately decided to part ways. At that time, Ryder never expressed anything for herself. Her representative spoke on her behalf, blaming young love and fame for what had happened.
As for Depp, he felt that it was his fault for being open about their relationship. “But I thought if we were honest, it would destroy that curiosity monster. Instead, it fed it, gave people license to feel they were part of it,” he said.
While Ryder didn’t speak out, how badly the breakup impacted her was evident. She went into a downward spiral, to the point that she had been prescribed sleeping pills.
Sometimes she took more than needed which led to her addiction. She even experimented with different substances and even burned her own house after falling asleep with a lit cigarette.
She also got herself into trouble. In 2001, she was arrested after shoplifting in Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue. The tabloids definitely sensationalized that story, and her golden reputation was tarnished. Soon after, she retreated and took a long break from Hollywood.
Opening Up
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Decades after their breakup, Ryder finally opened up about the aftermath of her first real heartbreak in her interview as Harper’s BAZAAR July 2022 digital issue cover star. The Stranger Things actress said that it was her “Girl, Interrupted” real life, referencing the 1999 film about a woman’s stay at a psychiatric facility designed for troubled young women, which she starred in and also executive produced.
She got out of it thanks to her “incredible therapist,” who helped her practice self-care by imagining herself as a child. To get into it, she remembered thinking about a character she played in her 1994 film The House of the Spirits whose fate led her inside the Chilean prison where she was tortured.
“I would look at these fake bruises and cuts on my face [from filming], and I would struggle to see myself as this little girl.” “Would you be treating this girl like you’re treating yourself?” That was when she realized that this was what she was doing to herself inside because she just wasn’t taking care of herself.
Michelle Pfeiffer, Ryder’s co-star in “The Age of Innocence,” gave her a lot of support during that very dark and difficult time in her life. She always reminded her that it was going to pass.
However, back then, she just couldn’t hear it. She was still grieving, and she never talked about it. She kept everything private.
“I have such, like, a place in my heart for those days. But for someone younger who grew up with social media, it’s hard to describe.”
Conclusion
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Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder didn’t have the best ending. But their romance will always be a story to remember. In fact, Depp still has his tattoo, though now it has changed. From “Winona Forever,” it now cheekily reads, “Wino Forever.”