Entertainment Movies Amber Heard Recalls Falling 'Head Over Heels in Love' with Johnny Depp: 'It Felt Like a Dream' Amber Heard took the stand in Johnny Depp's defamation trial on Wednesday By Stephanie Wenger Stephanie Wenger Instagram Twitter Stephanie Wenger is a TV Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She joined the brand in 2021 as digital news writer, spanning across the site's verticals. She previously contributed to E! Online, HollywoodLife, Discover Los Angeles, Oscar.com and Hollywood.com. She appeared on air at AfterBuzz TV. She began her journalism career as an intern at Good Morning America and Access Hollywood. She graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's in communications and received a Master's in journalism from the University of Southern California. People Editorial Guidelines Published on May 4, 2022 03:53 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Amber Heard recalled falling "head over heels in love" with ex-husband Johnny Depp while testifying in Depp's defamation trial against her. The actress, 36, shared that the beginning of their relationship, after they filmed 2011's The Rum Diary together, "felt like dream." "I felt like this man knew me, saw me, in a way no one else had," she said on the stand of Depp, 58. Johnny Depp Kicked Amber Heard During Fight Over James Franco, Psychologist Testifies "When I was around Johnny I felt like the most beautiful person in the world," Heard added. "It made me feel seen. It made me feel like a million dollars." She admitted the pair started "secretly dating" as Depp's split from his former partner Vanessa Paradis was not yet public at the time. "We were in a bubble of secrecy," Heard said. For more on the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. Depp and Paradis were together for 14 years, from 1999 to 2012. The French singer has two kids with Depp: Lily-Rose, 22, and Jack, 20. Amber Heard; Johnny Depp. JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty (2) Amber Heard Takes the Stand in Johnny Depp Trial: 'This Is Horrible for Me' Heard testified that she and Depp were both in relationships during the making of The Rum Diary. She said they did not get together until traveling the world for the film's press tour. The former couple would later wed in 2015. They broke up in May 2016, when Heard sought a domestic violence restraining order against Depp, accusing him of abusing her. Depp denied the claims, and the former couple settled their divorce out of court in August 2016. Johnny Depp Did 'Cavity Search' on Amber Heard, Penetrated Her with Bottle, Psychologist Testifies Last week during Depp's testimony, the actor said that he stayed in the marriage to Heard despite their arguments and alleged abuse because "I didn't want to fail." He added, "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." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Depp is suing Heard for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post about surviving domestic violence, though she never mentioned Depp by name in the article. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor originally filed the $50 million lawsuit in March 2019. Depp, who has said multiple times under oath that he has never struck Heard or any woman, has testified that his "goal is the truth" as he seeks to clear his name in the trial, which is being televised live via various outlets. Ahead of the trial, 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." Amber Heard (L); Johnny Depp. Venturelli/Getty; John Phillips/Getty Back in November 2020, Depp lost his highly publicized U.K. libel lawsuit case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater." The court upheld the outlet's claims as being "substantially true" and Heard testified to back up the claims. In March 2021, his attempt to overturn the decision was overruled. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.