Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have been caught up in one of the most-watched celebrity trials in recent history, which ended with the jury deciding that Depp was defamed by his ex-wife.
The decision, reached today in the Fairfax County Court, will see Heard, 36, have to pay US$15 million (NZ$23m) in damages to Depp, 58. Of that $10m ($15.4m) is in compensatory damages and $5m ($7.7m) in punitive damages.
However, Virginia law only allows punitive damages up to a maximum of $350,000 ($539,000) meaning Depp was awarded a total of $10.35 million ($15.96m).
There were multiple witnesses called to testify in the court case, ranging from personal assistants to ex-partners, and even the couple’s mechanic, David Killackey, who worked on their collection of classic cars.
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Their love for classic and vintage cars was something that Heard and Depp shared during the course of their relationship, but one of their last public appearances together centred around Heard's 1968 Ford Mustang, which has a very fascinating history.
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Heard bought the car around 2003 when she was an up and coming actress in LA, describing its original condition as “a beautiful piece of junk”.
In November 2015, roughly a year before their split became public, the celebrity couple appeared on an episode of the US TV show Overhaulin’, where Heard’s then-fiance Johnny Depp and her father, David Heard, stole the vehicle to have it restored to its former glory as a surprise for Heard.
“I bought it as a driveable piece of junk – a beautiful piece of junk,” Heard explained on Overhaulin’.
“The car cost me every dime I had and continued to cost me for the first eight years that I lived in LA.”
Making things more interesting, the car was stolen three times over her 12 years of ownership, one of those times it disappeared for 6 months and was left completely gutted.
Speaking with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Heard said that each time the car was stolen she'd update the security system. But it didn't stop the keen thieves. Thankfully, she was able to recover the vehicle each time it was stolen.
“I found it every time – one time it took six months but they got it. They gutted it pretty good the last time; that crushed me pretty good.”
In another interview with the Sunday Mail, Heard explained: “I park it on the street for one minute and someone takes it for a joyride but they always recover it."
“I just have to do the maintenance and repair the damage. My dad taught me enough about cars so that I'd never have to ask a man on the side of the road for help: I hotwire my own cars.”
On Overhaulin’, the transformation process was shown, completed by well-known, California-based automotive designer Chip Foose. The car was changed from silver to red, upgraded, and given an all-white interior as part of the transformation.
Heard nicknamed the car ‘Cherry Thunder’, and it's not the only classic muscle car she's got in her garage.
“Maybe it's the Texan in me, but I've always been into muscle cars,” she told the Sunday Mail.
“My '68 Mustang is my favourite. I love cars that have character, and I've had a number of them, including a '63 Checker and a '67 Mercedes.”
It's unknown whether or not Heard still has her 1968 Mustang, but an Instagram post she made in November 2021 suggests it may be no longer in her possession.
“Missing my ride or die,” she captioned a photo of herself behind the wheel of the classic car.
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