Johnny Depp turned to Sir Elton John for help as he sank into a boozy hell towards the end of his 14-year relationship with Vanessa Paradis.
The actor's alcohol abuse was brought up in court as Depp's libel trial against News Group Newspapers got underway in London on Tuesday and the star revealed the break-up of his romance with French actress and singer Paradis was particularly hard - and sad.
Explaining his drinking, he told the court: "I would definitely say that towards the end of my relationship with Ms. Paradis, the mother of my children, it was a very painful time - to break up with someone that you have been with for 14 years and that you have two children with... I was more than likely trying to numb myself as much as possible...
"I didn't like making her sad and I didn't like making my children sad."
But as his alcohol abuse began to spiral out of control, Depp turned to John for help.
In a March 2012 email to the singer, which was read out in court, Depp suggested he was 100 days sober, and he thanked the I'm Still Standing star, who has previously battled his own demons, for helping him get clean.
"My dearest Elton, 100 f**king days of clarity for an old reprobate t**t like me," he wrote in the email, read by defence lawyer Sasha Wass. "No one would ever have believed it possible but for a select few, most importantly you... I would have been swallowed up by the monster were it not for you."
The trial is expected to last three weeks and Paradis may be called to testify on behalf of her ex-boyfriend, who is seeking damages from The Sun over a 2018 article, in which he was branded a "wife beater" following claims made by his ex-wife Amber Heard during the couple's messy divorce. Depp is also suing Heard for defamation in relation to a Washington Post piece she wrote suggesting she was a victim of domestic abuse.
