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Amber Heard and Elon Musk have been two of the most common names in the news these last few weeks... The world's richest man for his campaign to take over social media platform Twitter, and the actress for the defamation case against her by ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
While their current, respective fates appear to be worlds apart, there is a time when Heard and Musk were practically joined at the hip. In 2017, the two controversial celebrities were in a relationship, before they called an end to things after barely one year together.
There have been rumors that the two began fraternizing while Heard was still married to Depp, and that Musk was relentless in his pursuit of her affection in those early days. There has been no solid evidence to back this up, however.
Nonetheless, Musk's feelings towards Heard were always pretty evident, as was emphasized by his wounded reaction to their eventual breakup in early 2018. The pair had reportedly got back together for about two months, before ending things once and for all in January that year.
Here is what they have both said about why their relationship ended.
How Did Amber Heard And Elon Musk Meet?
In 2013, Amber Heard starred in a supporting role in the action film Machete Kills by Robert Rodriguez. The movie, a sequel to the original Machete starring Danny Trejo, introduced a whole host of star names to the cast.
Mel Gibson, Sofia Vergara, Lady Gaga, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Charlie Sheen were among those who came into the picture. Heard joined the lineup as well, having not featured in the initial film.
The plot of Machete Kills follows Trejo as Machete Cortez, 'an ex-Federale agent recruited by the President of the United States to investigate Marcos Mendez, a revolutionary who has a split personality [and is] believed to have a nuclear missile aimed at the US.'
Heard played the role of "Miss San Antonio" Blanca Vasquez, described as 'a beauty contestant in Texas who serves as Machete's handler for the Mendez mission.'
Mel Gibson played a military techpreneur known as Luther Voz, whose character was modeled loosely on Elon Musk. Musk also made a cameo in the movie - as himself - which is how he got to meet Heard for the first time.
Why Did Amber Heard And Elon Musk Break Up?
After going out for several months, Amber Heard and Elon Musk broke up, with the South African billionaire reportedly making the decision to end things. At the time, neither of them made a public comment about their split, or the reason behind it.
A source close to the couple is said to have cited conflicts in their personal schedules as the main reason why they had to go separate ways.
"Elon and Amber broke up this week," the source confirmed, to Page Six News. "Elon made the decision to end things, and Amber agreed. The timing just wasn’t right, but they still care about each other."
This was in February 2018, about six months after it had been first reported that they had broken up. They then purportedly got back in the final months of 2017, before definitively ending things at the beginning of the new year.
People Magazine also corroborated the Page Six report of time being a major factor in the split.
What Amber Heard And Elon Musk Have Said About Their Breakup
When Elon Musk himself spoke up about the breakup, he appeared to contradict the source that had claimed it was him who left Amber Heard.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said, "I just broke up with my girlfriend," before adding as an afterthought: "Well, she broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think."
He went on to detail the level of pain he was suffering from as a result of the breakup. "I was really in love, and it hurt bad," he continued. "I’ve been in severe emotional pain for the last few weeks. Severe."
Unfortunately, Heard did not seem to share this kind of devastation. Although sources at the time claimed that she was distraught, emails between her and her friends that have been made public during her recent trial tell a different story.
Musk has of course since moved on from the relationship. He started dating Canadian singer Grimes in May 2018. The on-and-off couple have two children so far, including a second one via surrogate - who they welcomed secretly in December last year.