Less than three months after their wedding anniversary, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's marriage is over. Now, just days after Heard filed for divorce, the rumours about what went wrong are beginning.

TMZ initially cited tension between 30-year-old Heard and 52-year-old Depp's family as a problem.

Depp's two children from a former marriage, Lily Rose and Jack, along with his two sisters and his mother, Betty Sue Palmer, were rumoured to have openly "hated" his new wife.

"[Depp's] mum often told friends she thought Amber was using Johnny for his money and fame, and to boost her own career," the site reported, adding that an ailing Palmer moved into the couples' compound earlier this year.

"... Before Betty Sue moved in, she only saw her son once from the time he married Amber, and both Betty Sue and Johnny blame her for keeping them apart so she'd have full control."

The news site has since updated its story after People reported that the rumours were incorrect, and that Heard supported her mother-in-law during her recent battle with illness.

"Amber was by Betty Sue's side during this illness," a source told People. "And regularly visited her in the hospital."

TMZ added that Depp may have been the reason behind friction between his wife and his mother.

"... Johnny was indeed absent from his mum's life during their marriage, but it wasn't Amber's doing," TMZ reported. "They say it was Johnny's choice not to see her."

E! News suggests there is a less controversial reason for the split, three days after Depp's 81-year-old mother died.

"They are both passionate, intense and opinionated," a source told E! News earlier this year.

"Because of their strong personalities they do not always see eye to eye," the source continued. "They are both stubborn and overly dramatic, which doesn't help when they disagree."

All that is known at this stage is that, in her filing which cited "irreconcilable differences" as the cause, Heard asked for spousal support from Depp.

There was no pre-nuptial agreement and Depp filed a response on Wednesday, asking a court to reject her request.

The pair met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2009. In late 2012, the pair went public with their relationship, shortly after Depp's split from the mother of his children and partner of 14 years, Vanessa Paradis.

In June last year, Heard spoke to Elle magazine about married life. "Nothing is a dramatic change," the actress said. "We've been together for a long time now, so it's been a fairly organic process. I have a fiercely independent spirit.

"I fall in love [with Johnny] again and again," she added. "We have a fairly normal, um [relationship]. I guess, we do our best. He has his life, and I have mine, and our challenge is to be able to find time to be together. We're very happy. Very."

Fairfax Media