Denise Richards’ estranged husband Aaron Phypers addressed his courtroom arrest for alleged spousal abuse.
“We can confirm that Aaron Phypers was, in fact, arrested near the end of the family law court day on October 17, 2025, and was later released on bail,” his spokesperson exclusively told Us Weekly on Saturday, October 18.
Their statement continued, “We have not seen the criminal complaint, but we believe that it is most likely based upon the some of the same false accusations that Denise Richards has brought against Mr. Phypers in the family law domestic violence proceeding, which she claims occurred nearly four years ago. If so, we expect that the evidence will demonstrate Mr. Phypers’ innocence and that he will be acquitted.”
Us reported that Phypers, 53, was taken into custody at a Los Angeles courthouse on Friday, after he and Richards, 54, both testified during a hearing about the RHOBH alum’s request to extend a restraining order (TRO) against her ex.
5 Celebrity Splits That Defined 2025
“He’s been arrested outside the court and taken down a nearby escalator. [He] did not come back into [the] hallway,” an eyewitness revealed to Us. “Denise is here. She’s calm and talking to her team.”
Us also learned that Phypers and his lawyers were initially “confused” by the shocking turn of events and “didn’t seem to understand that he was about to get arrested.” Phypers was eventually released on $200,000 bond and even took a photograph with his bailperson upon his release.
Richards went public with domestic violence allegations against Phypers in July while seeking a TRO against her estranged spouse. In court filings, she accused Phypers of being abusive throughout their eight-year relationship.
“Aaron would frequently violently choke me, violently squeeze my head with both hands, tightly squeeze my arms, violently slap me in my face and head,” Richards alleged in court documents. “[He would] aggressively slam my head into the bathroom towel rack, threaten to kill me, hold me down with his knee on my back to the point where I would have to plead with him to get off me so that he would not kill me and hack into my laptop and phone and download all of my text messages.”
Phypers vehemently denied that he’d ever been violent with Richards, telling Us that her accusations were “conjured up.”
“I have the real evidence,” Phyphers told Us in a July statement. “I want to address recent rumors and speculation that have surfaced regarding my relationship with my wife, Denise Richards. Let me be unequivocally clear: I have never physically or emotionally abused Denise — or anyone.”
Prior to Phypers’ arrest, the pair testified in court on Friday about Richards seeking a permanent restraining order. The hearing included testimony from Aaron’s mother, Patricia Phypers, about allegedly witnessing Richards throwing “a can opener” at her son during one argument a few years ago.
During her testimony, Patricia denied ever seeing Aaron get physically violent with Richards or threaten her in any way. No decision has been made about extending the TRO, as the presiding judge requested an additional hearing on November 7.
Teddi Mellencamp and Erika Jayne Share Unfiltered Thoughts of Aaron Phypers
Richards and Phypers started dating in 2017, following the latter’s divorce from actress Nicollette Sheridan. (Phypers and Sheridan were married for three years.) They tied the knot in September 2018 in a Malibu ceremony that was filmed by Bravo for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Richards was previously married to Charlie Sheen between 2002 and 2006. They share two daughters — Sami, 21, and Lola, 20 — and Richards also adopted daughter Eloise, 14.
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
