The following contains mention of domestic violence.
Before Denise Richards underwent a transformation from a Midwest girl to a Hollywood star, she and her younger sister had a normal upbringing in Illinois, where they were raised by a coffee shop owner and a telephone engineer. “We were your typical all-American family. It was, you know, mom and dad, me and my sister. We were Catholic, we went to Church every Sunday. My mom made sure we were all eating dinner every night at 6 o’clock,” Richards shared on “Knockin’ Doors Down.”
After she moved to California with her family during high school, Richards dipped her toes into the entertainment industry, and her life became less than ideal. Although she eventually became a breakout star in movies such as “Starship Troopers” and “Wild Things,” Richards’ personal life took a hit after she married actor Charlie Sheen.
Richards and Charlie’s highly publicized and messy divorce, along with a custody battle over their two daughters, Sam Sheen and Lola Sheen, was a far cry from the family dynamic the “Blonde and Blonder” star came from. Along with her tumultuous split from the “Two and a Half Men” actor, Richards experienced many tragic moments in her life that fans may be surprised to learn.
Denise Richards’ divorce with Charlie Sheen was full of eyebrow-raising accusations
Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen seemed to be the ultimate Hollywood it-couple when they married in 2002 and welcomed their first daughter, Sam Sheen, two years later. Their marriage was short-lived, and in 2005, Richards filed for divorce while she was pregnant with their second daughter, Lola Sheen, who was born in June of that year. According to the legal documents, the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star claimed that her ex abused prescription drugs and was physically violent toward her, People reported. She also accused Charlie of excessive gambling and pornography use. “I am disappointed that the situation has deteriorated to the point that it has become necessary to seek the assistance of the court. However, my primary concern is and always has been the welfare of the children and this action today was taken to ensure their safety as well as mine,” Richards stated.
Unfortunately, the drama didn’t end after Richards and Charlie legally dissolved their marriage in 2006. The “Platoon” star claimed that Richards wanted his sperm to have another child, to which she told HuffPost, “I don’t want Charlie’s prostitute-t****y-infested sperm. I have two beautiful kids. We’ll leave it at that. I am so over him. He’s the one who can’t move on. He’s disgusting and he’s hit an all-time low.”
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Denise Richards lost her mom to cancer
One of the most tragic things to have happened to Denise Richards is that in the midst of her divorce drama and custody battle with Charlie Sheen, her mom passed away from cancer. In November 2007, OK! reported that Joni Richards had died in Long Beach, California, surrounded by her family, including Denise and Charlie’s daughters, Sam Sheen and Lola Sheen. “I was always a people pleaser. And I just finally got to the point in my life after having my daughters and going through a really ugly divorce, and … my mother being sick with cancer, that I’ve just gotten to the point where life is so short and I just want to be happy,” the mom of three said.
Since her mom’s death, Denise has dedicated her time to raising money for the Kidney Cancer Association. In a Season 2 episode of her reality show “It’s Complicated,” she set up a booth at Wrigley Field to help raise kidney cancer awareness because the Chicago Cubs were Joni’s favorite team. Denise’s philanthropy didn’t end there, either. In 2012, she teamed up with ShoeDazzle to design two pairs of heels, with all of the profits going to the Kidney Cancer Association, per People.
On the 15-year anniversary of her mom’s death, Denise wrote on Instagram, “Mom how much I miss you. I love you so so much & not a day goes by that we don’t think about you. We all miss you & we know that you are always watching over us. Oh what I would give to sit & chat & hug you. I love you so much mama.”
Charlie Sheen reportedly kicked Denise Richards and their daughters out of his home
After years of fighting for custody of their two daughters, Charlie Sheen allowed Denise Richards to have full legal rights to Sam Sheen and Lola Sheen in 2010, TMZ reported. At the time, Charlie was also giving Richards $50,000 a month in child support. Unfortunately, things took a turn between them yet again six years later. The former Bond girl sued Charlie for $1.2 million after claiming he evicted her and their daughters from the house he had purchased near his own, which he had convinced her to live in, per People.
Richards, whose motivation for divorcing Charlie was to prevent her daughters from marrying a similar person, was made to look like she was just after money. A source close to Charlie told Page Six, “You would think a woman who got $10 million, tax-free, for being married two years would be happy! Not to mention being paid an additional $660,000 a year for the past 10 years. He pays for all the kids’ school, medical, camps, vacations. At what point do you just go, ‘Thank you?'” However, someone from Richards’ camp shared, “It was a big mistake for her to move into that house … He saw [the kids] less when he lived by them. She’s got nothing to hide. He has a lot to hide, and they try to make her look like a greedy b***.” Charlie stopped paying Richards child support in 2021 after Sam moved in with him.
Denise Richards was once shot at during a harrowing car chase
Denise Richards may have had experience filming action scenes, but she was definitely not prepared for an incident that involved a car chase and a gun. A source revealed to People in November 2022 that Richards was riding in the passenger seat of her husband Aaron Phypers’ truck when they realized a car was aggressively tailing them. “The guy was obviously pissed behind him. The van was on his tail, pushing him almost … they couldn’t figure it out,” the insider shared. When the car pulled up next to them on the road, the man claimed that Phypers had cut him off and went off on him before driving away. Upon arriving at their destination, one of Richards’ filming locations, they saw that the back of the truck had been shot.
Richards opened up about the road rage incident a year later during Jeff Lewis’ SiriusXM radio show. “Honestly, we were at the wrong place at the wrong time, wrong area, and I believe that they thought we were someone else,” she recalled. Richards continued, “I started screaming like a lunatic. I did not handle it well because I saw that the guy had a gun. … I almost got out of the truck and [my husband] pulled me back.” After they both told the man that Phypers was just trying to take Richards to work, the perpetrator took off. The “Drop Dead Gorgeous” star explained that the man probably thought they were someone else because the car had dark-tinted windows and they were in an area of Los Angeles that had a lot of crime. “I’m not good [in a crisis],” she admitted.
Denise Richards’ husband has multiple lawsuits against him
Denise Richards isn’t the first “Real Housewife” whose husband had legal issues, but the hits kept coming for the couple. In 2024, InTouch reported that Aaron Phypers had been sued by a creditor over a loan of $190,000 two years prior. In his response to the lawsuit, the businessman said he lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the case went to trial, Phypers and the lender agreed outside of court that he would give them $10,000 a month until the total amount was paid off, but he didn’t pay the fifth installment. The creditor then requested the court to hit Phypers with a $228,000 judgment.
Phypers was again sued in November 2024 — this time for fraud involving his wellness center, per People. A man named Rupert Perry claimed that Phypers promised his wife, Elina Katsioula-Beall, that his treatments would help eradicate her cancer. He told her that if it didn’t work, he would refund half of the payment. The couple paid Phypers $126,000, but later discovered that Katsioula-Beall’s tumors had grown, so they asked to be repaid $63,000. Richards’ husband has yet to pay back the money as of this writing, and Katsioula-Beall sadly died from the disease in May 2024.
According to InTouch, Perry claimed he couldn’t serve Phypers the legal documents pertaining to the suit because his business had apparently shut down. “[Aaron’s] place of business is closed and empty. [Aaron’s] residence is not known. I have searched telephone books and property records in this county and have not found any records for [Aaron],” Perry stated.
