Amber Heard Recounts Incidents Of Alleged Violence She Experienced During Her Marriage With Johnny Depp

Amber Heard took to the stand on Monday and shared with the jurors how her marriage with actor Johnny Depp was falling apart. Through tears, the 36-year-old detailed the events that led her to finally file for divorce after a restraining order was sought against Depp in 2016.

The trial is being held at Fairfax County Court after Depp filed a defamation suit against Heard for publishing an op-ed in The Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic violence. The article does not mention the actor by name.

“I knew I had to leave him,” she stated. “I knew I wouldn’t survive it if I didn’t.” She said she just wanted a “good night’s sleep” when she filed for the restraining order. She went on to explain, “I just wanted to change my locks," adding that security guards in her building “would always let [Depp] into the house…no matter if I begged them not to let him over. I was scared. I was very conflicted because the person I was afraid of, was also the person I was in love with,” she said. She recounted the instances of violence against her and refuted other claims that were made against her.

She recounted the events following her birthday in 2016 which Depp did not make it to. Later that night when they were alone, Depp allegedly got into a physical fight with her, pulled her by the hair, shoved her, and even threw a bottle of champagne that missed her. As for the previous accusation against her that she and a friend defecated on his bed, she called it a "delusion" and maintained that it was one of the dogs. They even argued about this incident that a friend she was on a call with overheard and warned her to get to safety.

“He pulls his arm back with the phone and throws it at my face,” she said of how Depp reacted on overhearing her friend's warning. “I put my head in my hands and immediately start crying.” The friend called 911 but when they arrived, Heard supposedly did not cooperate with them. “I wanted to protect Johnny,” she testified. “I didn’t want him to be arrested.” She then filed for a restraining order and then a divorce. She called it the "hardest thing" she’s had to do in her life.

"I was conflicted. I knew after he threw the phone at my face…I knew I had to leave him,” Heard explained. “I knew I didn’t, I knew I would likely not literally survive. I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me. I really didn’t want to leave him, I loved him so much. But I couldn’t stay.” Speaking about the trial itself she added, “I was begging Johnny to not make me prove what I am sitting here having to prove to all of you today. Everything I said then, everything I’ve said to date is the truth. I don’t want anything from him, just don’t call me a liar."