A Complete Investigation Of Tim Burton And Helena Bonham Carter’s Complicated Romance
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They Met On The Set Of ‘Planet Of The Apes’
Bonham Carter and Burton met on the set of the 2001 film Planet of the Apes, and they soon began dating. Bonham Carter was previously married to actor and director Kenneth Branagh, but they divorced in 1999. Burton was allegedly still in a long-term relationship with Lisa Marie - who also had a minor role in the movie - at the time he met Bonham Carter.
When Burton suddenly ended the relationship to pursue the Planet of the Apes star, Marie sued her ex for palimony, claiming Burton had "promised to support her for the rest of her life." A court settled the case in 2008.
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The Couple Never Married
Bonham Carter and Burton were together for 13 years, but they never got married. The couple had a seemingly happy relationship and even had two children together. The pair were never public about why they chose not to marry.
Nonetheless, they collaborated on numerous films projects and raised their children together.
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They Never Lived In The Same House
Bonham Carter and Burton chose not to cohabit during their 13-year relationship. The couple instead lived in adjoining houses in Belsize Park, London - Bonham Carter already owned a home there, and Burton bought the place next door.
The couple reportedly enjoyed their personal space, especially as Burton snores heavily, according to Bonham Carter:
We just have two houses knocked together because mine was too small. We see as much of each other as any couple, but our relationship is enhanced by knowing we have our personal space to retreat to... Tim does snore, and that’s an element. We’ve tried lots of remedies that don’t work. He has a deviated septum and doesn’t want an operation.
At one point, The Telegraph even reported the pair planned to "build an elaborate walkway connecting their two homes."
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Each Home Had Its Own Look And Personal Touches
One benefit of the separate housing situation was the couple could each decorate their own home the way they wanted. This plan allowed for each building to serve as a personal and intimate space where they could spend private moments in total comfort.
“My house looks like something out of Beatrix Potter,” Bonham Carter claimed, “but if you go over to his house, you’re in a totally different place. He’s got slime balls and [expired] Oompa-Loompas lying around, and skeletons and weird alien lights.”
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Burton’s Ex Sold His Belongings After He Broke Up With Her To Be With Bonham Carter
Burton's breakup with Lisa Marie created animosity that eventually ended in a property settlement in 2004. The following year, she began to sell some of his belongings online, including merchandise from films Burton had directed.
“Allegedly, these items include props, memorabilia, and costumes from various films I have directed, as well as some drawings of mine that were private gifts - never meant for public display or purchase,” Burton said in a statement. He went on to disparage his former partner for attempting to misuse his possessions and informed the media he had not authorized the sale of the items.
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They Have Two Children Together
Bonham Carter and Burton have two children together. They gave birth to son Billy Raymond - named after their fathers - in 2003. When the couple had a daughter in 2007, they admittedly struggled to agree on a name.
After seven months, they finally announced they had chosen the name Nell, a diminutive form of Helen. The name is meant to honor “all the Helens in the family," as Bonham Carter's mother and grandmother are named Elena and Helene, respectively.
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Burton Took Charge Of The Family's Holiday Decorations
Bonham Carter confirmed that while she and Burton had a relatively conventional relationship, things did get a bit eccentric around Christmas. The actor allowed Burton to take control of the decorations during the holiday season - after all, he was the creator of The Nightmare Before Christmas. On the other hand, he created The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Thus, the Bonham Carter/Burton Christmas tree took on an annually untraditional appearance: it sported zombies and other scary ornaments.
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They Both Have Eclectic Sartorial Sensibilities
The public was fascinated with the couple for so many years in part because they were charming in their eccentricity. This manifested in their attire: they often appeared in less-than-pristine - even disheveled-looking - clothing. The media described the two as goths on occasion, thanks to their fondness for wearing black clothes and sporting unkempt hair.
Bonham Carter said, "I'm often criticized for what I wear. That's my main label in the press now: disastrous dresser!... Sometimes it's really offensive, but it's kind of affectionate now. We're like the 'bonkers couple.'"
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The Couple Had A Tight Relationship With Johnny Depp
Burton and Johnny Depp have a long friendship dating back to their first collaboration, Edward Scissorhands, in 1990. The media has even referred to Bonham Carter as the female Johnny Depp. Depp has appeared in eight of Burton’s films and starred alongside Bonham Carter in numerous movies. The friendship runs so deep that Depp is godfather to their children.
Depp said of Burton: “What more can I say about him? He is a brother, a friend, my godson's father. He is a unique and brave soul, someone that I would go to the ends of the Earth for, and I know, full and well, he would do the same for me.”
When Bonham Carter and Burton split in 2014, Playboy asked the question on everyone's minds: Who gets custody of Johnny Depp after the split? According to a recap of the interview in Vanity Fair, Bonham Carter responded, "Oh, Tim can have him! They get the same poo jokes. Nothing will separate them."
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They Broke Up In 2014 After 13 Years Together
After their split in 2014, Bonham Carter revealed she went through a period of depression and felt incredibly fragile for a long time afterward. She took it one day at a time, however, and reminded herself things would get better: “Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but it’s okay to be fragile.”
Though she refrained from speaking about the relationship for some time after the breakup, she finally opened up:
With divorce, you go through massive grief - it is [the end] of a relationship, so it’s utterly bewildering. Your identity, everything, changes... You’ve got to take very small steps, and sometimes you won’t know where to go next because you’ve lost yourself.
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Bonham Carter Says She's Still Friends With Johnny Depp
In the last few years, Johnny Depp has faced accusations of mismanaging his finances, creating a toxic work environment, and physically and verbally mistreating his ex-wife, Amber Heard. With the continued focus on the behavior of Hollywood stars in the #MeToo era, there was speculation Bonham Carter may have cut off contact with Depp due to the allegations from Heard. This doesn’t seem to be the case, though, and she has said Depp remains a friend.
“Johnny is still a friend," she said in 2018. "He’s the godfather to my children. I haven’t seen him for a long time. But he’s quite an elusive character.”
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Bonham Carter And Burton Have Remained Friends Despite The Split
Despite the end of their romantic relationship, Burton and Bonham Carter reportedly remain good friends. After they announced their separation, a statement explained they would continue to raise their children together and that there was no animosity between them.
In 2015, Bonham Carter even admitted it was entirely possible they could work together in the future again:
We did find each other. And really, the mark of a successful relationship shouldn’t be whether you’re there forever after. Sometimes you’re not meant to be forever together. Sometimes you have to come to terms with the fact that that was it. But that was a gift, a massive gift. We gave each other children and a lot more else.
