Denise Richards is sharing her side of the story after estranged husband Aaron Phypers filed for divorce.
Posting a video via her Instagram on Thursday, August 21, Richards, 54, admitted her summer had been “sh***y” in the wake of her split from Phypers, 52, and described her divorce as a “very difficult time.”
In the clip, Richards first joked that her summer had been “wonderful,” before candidly sharing, “It’s actually been sh***y, but I’m gonna pretend like it’s all good. I’ve actually been posting on Instagram like nothing’s going on in my life, and I can’t do that anymore, because there’s something obviously going on.”
She went on to thank her followers for all their support and for sending her well wishes during the emotional time.
“I just wanted to, in all seriousness, say that this has been a … very, very, very difficult time. It’s so hard to go through a divorce,” she said. “Many of you have gone through that. This isn’t my first one, second one, and I never thought I’d get divorced again. This is why I always say never, say never. But I really just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your supportive, kind, thoughtful, encouraging messages, because this has been a very difficult time, and there’s circumstances around my divorce that are difficult to talk about.”
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Richards added that she plans to one day open up more about her marriage breakdown, but is prioritizing “processing” the divorce first.
Phypers filed for divorce from Richards on July 7, after six years of marriage. In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, he listed the pair’s date of separation as July 4 and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.
While Phypers noted that he and Richards do not have any minor children, he did list her youngest daughter, Eloise, as his stepchild in the court docs. (Richards is also mom of daughters Sami and Lola, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Charlie Sheen in 2004 and 2005, respectively.)
Us Weekly reached out to Richards and Phypers for comment at the time.
Weeks later, Richards filed for a restraining order against Phypers and claimed that he was physically abusive throughout their six-year marriage.
She claimed in court documents: “Throughout our 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, 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.”
The Bravo star further claimed that Phypers “regularly threatened” physical violence and “caused” her to have three concussions.
“Aaron repeatedly got within two inches of my face and screamed at me degrading profanities, including calling me a ‘c*** whore’ and a ‘piece of s***,’” Richards alleged in her motion, accusing Phypers of repeated abuse throughout the course of their marriage.
Phypers denied Richards’ accusations, telling Us in a statement that her claims were “conjured up” and that he has “the real evidence.”
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Richards and Phypers tied the knot in September 2018. In an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills the following year, she opened up about how the pair first crossed paths.
“So, I met him at his center doing DNA repair, anti-aging and that sort of thing,” she explained in 2019. “Then, one time we had sex in one of his rooms. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”
Later that year, Richards revealed her first impression of Phypers during a March 2019 episode of the Bravo show. “I thought he was cute and I wanted to f*** him,” she recalled. “I just wanted to have sex with him.”
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The Denise Richards & Her Wild Things star has been candid about her romance with Phypers through the years. In 2020, she shared how the twosome kept their love alive.
“There’s a lot we can do ourselves, but I can’t do everything on my own and actually it makes me a better parent having the help,” she said on The Rachel Hollis Show at the time. “In normal circumstances, my husband and I, we take one weekend a month, we go to a hotel, where it’s just us.”
Years later, Richards gushed that she loved to be married. “I love my husband. I know not everyone does,” she exclusively told Us in 2024. “I don’t understand them. But we like each other, and love being with each other.”
Richards noted that she and Phypers were “best friends,” adding, “I say this to other couples with children, I always say you have to have time for yourself. Don’t feel guilty. If this ain’t working, it starts at the top and s*** rolls down. If [your marriage] stays strong, your family is intact. Have a staycation with your husband or wife. Just keep your connection.”
