As the personal repercussions of their mutual toxic divorces rumble on, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie appear to have both stepped away from the world of dating. 

While Angelina is said to be understandably ‘relieved’ after battling with ex-husband Brad Pitt for a staggering eight years before their divorce was finalised in December; Johnny’s highly damaging legal fight against Amber Heard in, which was settled in 2017, saw him escape what could have been the end of his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading men. 

Now, as they both pick up the pieces of their shattered lives from the past decade, a source tells us that whispers have been circulating in Hollywood circles that the pair could become Hollywood’s most controversial couple yet – if it was up to bachelor Johnny, that is. 

The insider tells Closer, ‘If it were up to Johnny, his connection with Angie would be a lot more serious and he’d love to make Angie his woman. 

‘He’s carried a torch for her for years and years and a lot of people in his life are convinced she’s the reason he fell so hard for Amber – she was like a version of Angie. 

‘No doubt Angie is well aware of the effect she has on Johnny after they worked together but she has always maintained a professional relationship and kept her emotional distance.’ 

However, after starring as Johnny’s love interest in spy thriller, The Tourist, back in 2010, Angelina, 50 – who was engaged to Brad Pitt, 61, at the time – did confess that she’d harboured a crush on Johnny, 62, back in her teenage years. 

The mum-of-six – who shares Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16, with Brad, said at the time, ‘Of course, I always wanted to work with Johnny Depp. What actress hasn’t? I’ve thought he was the coolest thing for years. I practically grew up with him and had such a crush on him in Edward Scissorhands.’ 

Johnny, meanwhile, returned the compliment ten-fold, effusing, ‘She’s everything. She’s kind of a walking poem, Angelina is. She’s this perfect beauty but at the same time very deep, very smart, very quick, very clever, very funny, and also has a very perverse sense of humour.’ 

Now the source confirms that the A-list duo did share a sizzling connection while on set, but that they were both in relationships at the time and remained faithful throughout. 

The insider says, ‘It all goes back to when they shot The Tourist together. Their chemistry was off the charts and everyone on set was talking about it. 

‘After the movie wrapped, they stayed in contact, which was a huge point of contention for Brad and caused a lot of jealousy. But he and Angie eventually worked things out.’

While Brad and Angelina went on to marry in 2014, Johnny’s court case hinted that his relationship with Vanessa – with whom he shares children Lily-Rose and Jack – had been under strain at the time before he met Amber Heard on the set of The Rum Diaries in 2011. 

And while Johnny revealed he had been a ‘sucker’ to fall for actress Amber – who he faced in court during his unsuccessful libel case against UK newspaper The Sun, and later the defamation case against Amber in 2022 which he won – the source says many suspected that his initial attraction to her had stemmed from her similarities with Angelina, who has been voted the ‘sexiest woman in the world’. 

Both Angelina and Amber have been labelled as ‘wild’, with both women having a ‘tomboy’ streak in their younger years, they both own and know how to use guns and are mutual advocated of LGBTQ+ right and rights for women. 

Now the source says, ‘It was obvious to a lot of his friends at the time he was trying to recreate what he had with Angie, there were so many similarities between her and Amber.

‘Obviously that crashed and burned hard and to this day he still talks about Angelina like she’s the one that got away, so of course he jumps at any opportunity to see her.’ 

Amber, 39, has since moved on, moving to Spain following the damning defamation trial and welcoming daughter Oonagh through surrogacy in 2021, before adding twins Agnes and Ocean to her brood earlier this year. 

Meanwhile, Johnny is rumoured to have been in a casual relationship with model Yulia Vlasova, who is 33 years his junior, since last summer. 

However, any hopes he may have of dating Angelina could be dashed after the busy mum revealed last year that she plans on spending a lot of time away from Hollywood next year. 

Angelina has long since fallen out of love with Hollywood, the town she grew up in, calling it a ‘shallow place’ that is ‘not healthy’ to live in.

And with her and Brad’s twins’ birthday marking the one year countdown until they officially become adults next summer – thus gaining their full legal rights and responsibilities and can choose whether or not to see Brad themselves – Angelina has shared her plans to spend time thousands of miles away from LA. 

‘I’ll spend a lot of time in Cambodia. I’ll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world,’ she said in August. 
She’s also remained strictly single, with a source saying earlier this year, ‘’It’s hard for her to trust men after what she went through with Brad. She hasn’t sworn off men, but she’s not looking for anything serious right now.’

But our source says that the shared scars from their bitter divorce battles have led many Hollywood insiders to quietly root for Angelina to give Johnny a chance, and now only time will tell. 

They say, ‘A lot of people think they’d actually make a great match and Johnny is certainly hoping that door could open in the future.’