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It’s been about a year since Gossip Cop busted a story about Johnny Depp trying to get back together with Winona Ryder. The two dated for years in the ‘90s and remain friends. Let’s look back on that rumor.
Perhaps It Really Was True Love
NW reported Depp always thought of Ryder as the “ultimate soulmate.” He was opening up to mutual friends to get some intel and see if she is interested in getting back together. A supposed source wanted Ryder to steer clear, saying “she’s a fragile soul and doesn’t need a [torublemaker] like Johnny in her life.”
We busted this story at the time because Ryder was, and still is, dating fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn. Gossip Cop was also assured by a source close to the situation that this was all complete fiction. Depp and Ryder have not dated in over 25 years, and there was no reason for them to start again now.
Ryder Helped In Depp’s Court Case
Ryder’s name has popped back up in Depp stories in the past year. Ryder released a personal statement for Depp in his ongoing civil case against Amber Heard. In a statement to the court, Ryder said Depp “has never been violent or abusive towards anybody I have seen.”
There’s nothing romantic about this interaction, but it shows the two are at least on good terms. This is the same court case the tabloid invoked in its story about Depp wearing a bulletproof vest. Gossip Cop bused that story, as neither Heard nor Depp were going outside much because of the pandemic.
Old Flames Make New Stories
Gossip Cop has noticed a trend with this tabloid about old partners, sometimes years old as in this Depp and Ryder story, trying to win the relationship back. We busted NW in March for its story that Ben Affleck was buying Jennifer Garner a ranch in a grand romantic gesture. Affleck was and is dating Ana De Armas, so that certainly did not happen.
The tabloid had a story that Jessie J was trying to win back Channing Tatum by stalking him. That’s not a great way to earn someone’s love and respect, and so we busted the story. Another long split relationship is the one between Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. Moore was apparently trying to win him back too, according to this unreliable source of “news”.
These tabloids cannot let long gone romances go, even long after all the parties have moved on themselves. Winona Ryder is amid a career resurgence thanks to Stranger Things and hasn’t romantically thought about Depp in literally decades. The whole story felt a little desperate from NW, which had no evidence going for it.
Our Verdict
Gossip Cop has determined this story is totally false.