'It wasn't easy on her, it wasn't easy on me': Johnny Depp breaks his silence over split from Vanessa Paradis after 14 years

PUBLISHED: 14:08 EST, 18 June 2013 | UPDATED: 02:57 EST, 19 June 2013

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Johnny Depp has finally broken his silence about the end of his 14-year relationship with Vanessa Paradis.

Speaking to the July 4 edition of Rolling Stone, the 50-year-old movie legend - who has Lily-Rose, 14, and Jack, 11, with the French beauty,40, - opened up about the traumatic split last June.

'The last couple years have been a bit bumpy,' Depp told the magazine. 'At times, certainly unpleasant, but that's the nature of breakups, I guess, especially when there are kiddies involved.'

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Baring all: Depp opened up to the July 4 issue of Rolling Stone

Depp continued: 'Relationships are very difficult. Especially in the racket that I'm in because you're constantly away or they're away and so it's hard. It wasn't easy on her. It wasn't easy on me. It wasn't easy on the kids. So, yeah. The trajectory of that relationship - you play it out until it goes, one thing leads to another.

'So for whatever reason that ceases, it doesn't stop the fact that you care for that person, and they're the mother of your kids, and you'll always know each other, and you're always gonna be in each other's lives because of those kids. You might as well make the best of it.'

But Depp, who was famed for his tumultuous making and breaking up with British model Kate Moss, days he handled his relationship meltdown with more maturity this time round.

Solid: Depp and Paradis lived a low-key existence but usually supported each other at events such as the 80th Academy Awards in 2008

'In terms of the breakup, I definitely wasn't going to rely on the drink to ease things or cushion the blow or cushion the situation,' he admitted.

'Cause that could have been fatal. I felt it was my duty to be real clear throughout that. I had something pretty serious to focus on, really, which was making sure that my kids were gonna be cool.'

And he added that his children are doing well.

'They've been incredibly understanding, incredibly strong throughout the whole ordeal. And it's hard on every side. You know, Vanessa's side, certainly not easy. My side, not easy. The kids are the most complicated,' he explained.

'The thing is, kiddies come first. You can't shield them, because then you'd be lying. So you can at least be honest with your kids, and you say the absolute truth to your child - that was very important to not pussyfoot around.'

Depp and Vanessa got together in 1998 when they met in the Costes Hotel in Paris while he was filming the Roman Polanski film The Ninth Gate.

He had had a high-profile engagement to Winona Ryder and a long-term relationship with Kate Moss and she had just come out of a relationship with French-Slovenian actor Stanislas Merhar, having been reportedly previously engaged to singer Lenny Kravitz.

Rumours: Depp and his Rum Diaries co-star Amber Heard who was seen accompanying him to Las Vegas on his private jet as he promoted his latest film Dark Shadows

New love: Depp and his Rum Diaries co-star Amber Heard who accompanied him to Las Vegas on his private jet as he promoted his latest film Dark Shadows at the time of the split

A year after they got together, Depp and Paradis's first child, daughter Lily-Rose Melody, was born, followed by their son John 'Jack' Christopher in 2002.

In 2007, the family were in London when Lily-Rose fell ill with a serious E.coli infection that caused her kidneys to start shutting down and she was rushed to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

So grateful was Depp for the care and attention the staff gave his daughter that in November 2007 he visited in his Pirates of the Caribbean character Jack Sparrow to visit the patients and the following year he donated £1million to the hospital.

He and Paradis never married but he stated that having children cemented roots for him and added that they gave him 'real foundation, a real strong place to stand in life, in work, in everything'.

Gothic: Depp's LA mansion that he bought in 1996 for $3million which was originally built for Bela Lugosi

He added: 'You can't plan the kind of deep love that results in children. Fatherhood was not a conscious decision. It was part of the wonderful ride I was on. It was destiny; kismet. All the math finally worked.'

And Paradis explained why the pair never felt the need to marry and said: 'I love the romance of "let's get married", but then, when you have it so perfect ... I mean, I'm more married than anybody can be – we have two kids. Maybe one day, but it's something I can really do without.'

In 2010, she also gushed: 'I could make an endless list of all the things I admire about him.

'We understand that, if we want our relationship to continue, we must give each other space, allow each other to go off on our own, and trust each other. Not everyone is lucky enough to be given space and trust.'

Depp is worth an estimated $300million and the family have divided their time between their homes in Meudon, in the suburbs of Paris, two in Los Angeles, an island he bought in The Bahamas and their villa in Le Plan-de-la-Tour, a small town 20 km from Saint-Tropez, in the south of France.

Italian bolthole: Depp also purchased the Palazzo Don Sangiantoffetti in Venice for £8.58million in 2011 after falling in love with the city after filming The Tourist with Angelina Jolie the year before

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I guess he does believe in long term commitments. His view of "until it plays out", is a bit sad to me. Long term relationships are very hard work, and you don't always get to feel "in love", but you make a commitment and honor it through the highs and lows.

- Zee Chen , San Francisco, 19/6/2013 23:23

Click to rate Rating 14

@SouthernKristy losing his looks? not really because he is getting better with age while vanessa is obviously losing her looks and ageing badly

- Jory Al-o , bong, Greece, 19/6/2013 21:33

Click to rate Rating 23

Stay happy Johnny,Amber is very beautiful ,life is too short to stay with an old nagging wife who secretly resents you.

- maj , paris, France, 19/6/2013 20:56

Click to rate Rating 65

jimsock - "I guess you have never read Rolling Stone before - he's done countless interviews with them and has been on the cover a number of times over the past 14 years." No, actually I HAVE read the Rolling Stone before - obviously long before you were born to know better. Originally, the Rolling Stone was strictly for rockers, not silly celebrity movie actors. Funny, how your statement reveals your age and lack of knowledge!

- jimsock , Lake Worth, United States, 19/6/2013 20:36

Click to rate Rating 7

and it doesn't help the relationship when you make a movie with a gorgeous bi-sexual lady who is half your age I'll bet!

- jenisoutherngirl , Bham USA, United States, 19/6/2013 19:23

Click to rate Rating 11

*SWOON*!!!!!!

- Orbit , Oz, United States, 19/6/2013 18:55

Click to rate Rating 4

I'm with @maj, lost all respect for him. He seems to meet someone-declare true love, get engaged- never married, then breaks hearts and goes off with someone else. Bit of a pattern there and if I was this new girl i'd be worried before getting involved with him. Plus he's knocking on abit , losing his looks, and probably going through the mid-life crisis. He'll be back in the leather and buying a red sports car before you know it.

- helly , bath, United Kingdom, 19/6/2013 18:52

Click to rate Rating 11

Johnny has always been a private person. The public seems to define him by the characters he plays. In the end he sounds responsible and wants the best for his children.

- Motoman , Arizona, 19/6/2013 18:24

Click to rate Rating 39

NEVER UNDERSTOOD THIS MAN'S APPEAL :C- AlonsoJonathan , London----------------I DO!

- HypoBrit , London, United Kingdom, 19/6/2013 18:12

Click to rate Rating 24

Immature and self-centered, this is the type of person young people pattern themselves after these days.

- Skyway , Chico, 19/6/2013 18:12

Click to rate Rating 14

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