Johnny Depp opens up about Vanessa Paradis breakup

LOS ANGELES, June 18 (UPI) -- Hollywood star Johnny Depp says he and his former longtime partner Vanessa Paradis are still committed to putting their children first in their lives.

Depp and the French model, actress and musician -- who are the parents of Lily-Rose, 14, and Jack, 11 -- announced their breakup in June 2012.

"The last couple years have been a bit bumpy," the 50-year-old actor told Rolling Stone magazine, talking for the first time in detail about the split. "At times, certainly unpleasant, but that's the nature of breakups, I guess, especially when there are kiddies involved. ...

"Relationships are very difficult. Especially in the racket that I'm in because you're constantly away or they're away and so it's hard. It wasn't easy on her. It wasn't easy on me. It wasn't easy on the kids. So, yeah. The trajectory of that relationship -- you play it out until it goes, one thing leads to another. So for whatever reason that ­ceases, it doesn't stop the fact that you care for that person, and they're the mother of your kids, and you'll always know each other, and you're always gonna be in each other's lives because of those kids. You might as well make the best of it."

Depp said he handled the end of his romance with Paradis better than his breakups with previous girlfriends Kate Moss and Winona Ryder.

"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," he said. "'Cause that could have been fatal. 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 is dating 27-year-old Amber Heard, his co-star in the 2011 movie "The Rum Diary," UsMagazine.com said.