Amber Heard photos released as texts reportedly sent between her and Johnny Depp's assistant leaked

The text messages reportedly show previous instances of alleged violence

Heard was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Depp after she alleged he had been violent towards her on multiple occasions during their 15-month marriage (Getty Images)

Photos showing the alleged abuse Amber Heard suffered at the hands of Johnny Depp have been released as a series of messages purported to be from Heard have been leaked.

Images show close-ups of Heard, 30, with bruising around her eye and a bloody lip following an alleged instance of domestic violence inflicted by her estranged husband Depp, 52.

They will appear on the front cover of People Magazine’s June issue, which goes on sale in the US on Friday.

According to the magazine, the images are from an alleged incident of abuse which took place in December 2015. In Heard’s court filing accusing Depp of domestic violence, she states: “There was one severe incident in December 2015 when I truly feared for my life.”

(People Magazine (People Magazine)

Heard filed for divorce from Depp on 23 May, citing irreconcilable differences. She requested Depp pay her legal fees and spousal support but Depp asked a judge to reject these requests.

The couple’s marriage has become increasingly contentious in the following week. Last Friday, Heard was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Depp after she alleged he had been violent towards her on multiple occasions during their 15-month marriage.

Now text messages reportedly exchanged between Heard and Depp’s assistant, Stephen Deuters, have emerged. The messages, which were obtained by Entertainment Today, claim to be from May 2014 and appear to show previous instances of alleged violence before the couple were married.

The text exchange begins with a message from “Stephen”, who is apologising on behalf of a man purported to be Depp.

“Think he's just texted you. He's incredibly apologetic and knows that he has done wrong,” Stephen's text allegedly says.

“He wants to get better now. He's been very explicit about that this morning. Feel like we're at a critical juncture.”

(People Magazine)

Stephen allegedly reiterates that the man purported to be Depp cannot remember what had occurred.

“He was appalled,” the message continues. “When I told him he kicked you, he cried. It was disgusting. And he knows it.”

Heard reportedly responded by saying that Depp had “done this many times before. Tokyo, the island, London (remember that?!), and I always stay. Always believe he's going to get better...And then every three or so month [sic], I'm in the exact same position.“

(People Magazine)

Since Heard's decision to file for divorce, her marriage to Depp has continued to dominate news coverage. Heard appeared in court on 27 May, with a bruise visible on her face, alleging Depp threw an iPhone at her face and a month before “grabbed [her] by the hair and violently shoved [her] to the floor”.

Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, responded by claiming Heard’s application for a restraining order was prompted by unfavourable media coverage that she had been subject to and an attempt to “secure a premature financial resolution”.

(People Magazine)

On Tuesday, Heard released a lengthy statement via her lawyers which responded to the events which have unfolded in the last week.

In it, she said had not previously chosen to release a statement to the Los Angeles Police Department in order to safeguard her privacy and Depp’s acting career, revealing she had now released a full statement to the LAPD about the alleged domestic violence she had been subject to.

“Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny,” Heard’s lead attorney Samantha F Spector and her co-counsel Joseph P Koenig claimed in a statement sent to The Independent.

“In domestic violence cases, it is not unusual for the perpetrator's playbook to include miscasting the victim as the villain,” it continued.

“In reality, Amber acted no differently than many victims of domestic violence, who think first of the harm that might come to the abuser, rather than the abuse they have already suffered.”

(People Magazine)

Depp has yet to make a public statement since the restraining order was issued but did release a comment responding to the news Heard was seeking spousal support and there was no prenuptial agreement.

“Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the malicious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life,“ the statement read.

”Hopefully, the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.“