Johnny Depp’s Ex-Girlfriend Winona Ryder Responds To Amber Heard’s Abuse Allegations

It was a long time ago, but Winona Ryder was once in a serious relationship with Johnny Depp. The two actors were engaged, but called off their relationship before marriage. Still, Ryder says she did not experience any of abuse that Depp's estranged wife, Amber Heard, alleged when she accused him of hitting her in the face with an iPhone last month.

She was “shocked” about the allegations, Ryder, the “Girl, Interrupted” actress, told Time magazine in an exclusive interview Monday. "I can only speak from my own experience, which was wildly different than what is being said," said the actress, now 44. "He was never, never that way towards me. Never abusive at all towards me. I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves."

Even though she said Depp never mistreated her when they were together in the early 1990s, Ryder didn’t discount Heard’s statements. "I wasn't there. I don't know what happened," she said. "I'm not calling anyone a liar. I’m just saying, it's difficult and upsetting for me to wrap my head around it. Look, it was a long time ago, but we were together for four years, and it was a big relationship for me. Imagine if someone you dated when you were — I was 17 when I met him — was accused of that. ... I have never seen him be violent toward a person before."

Ryder and Depp, now 53, split up after four years together. He famously got a tattoo of her name, which read, “Winona Forever.” He later changed it to “Wino Forever.”

The “Heathers” actress isn’t the only one of Depp’s exes to speak out. Model Vanessa Paradis, mother of his two children, slammed Heard. "He is a sensitive, loving and loved person, and I believe with all my heart that these recent allegations being made are outrageous," Paradis said.

In his first interview since the abuse allegations were made, Depp did not address the alleged assault or his estranged wife. They were married for 13 months when Heard, 30, filed for divorce.

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