Johnny Depp Stayed Sober During Breakup

Johnny Depp made it a point to not break his sobriety during his breakup from longtime partner Vanessa Paradis, the actor tells Rolling Stone. Depp, 50, split from the French singer in June 2012 after 14 years and two children together. But he says he is no longer turning to booze to cope with trauma. "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 'cause that could have been fatal," he says, "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." Depp said that not drinking has allowed him to both handle his breakup more appropriately and also be a present father in the midst of the split. "The kids are the most complicated," he says, "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." Sobriety hasn't always been easy for the actor, who admitted to falling off the wagon while shooting The Rum Diary in 2011, despite making a pact with director Bruce Robinson to not drink during filming. "We lasted until it was about four in the morning, about 3,000% humidity and about 500 million degrees Fahrenheit and we saw this little corner 'bodega' store and I said, 'Bruce, I've got to do it'," Depp told The Sun. "We ran in, pounded three Coronas and that was the end of sobriety." He was later caught on video falling down drunk as onlookers shouted "Rum Diary! Rum Diary!"