Denise Richards asked a court for protection from her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, whom she accused of physically abusing her throughout their marriage, and Us Weekly can report exclusive details.
According to court documents obtained by Us, Richards, 54, requested a restraining order against Phypers, 52, on Wednesday, July 16.
Richards told the court, “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.”
“Aaron regularly threatened to ‘break my jaw’ and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help — none of which ever happened,” she said.
Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers were married for six years after meeting following their respective divorces. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum was previously married to actor Charlie Sheen from 2002 to 2006. They share two daughters: Sam and Lola. (Richards later adopted daughter Eloise in 2011.) More than a decade after her divorce, […]
“Aaron has caused me at least three concussions. Aaron has told me that he has left recording devices to record me while I was alone in hotel rooms and at my townhouses,” she alleged. She said on July 4, “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 said, “Aaron repeatedly grabbed my left arm tightly.” She said the next day Aaron came into her townhouse with his father and “got within inches of my face and began yelling at me, calling me a ‘c*** whore’ multiple times and with his right hand violently hit the bill of my hat with the back of his hand which caused my hat to fall off my head.”
Aaron Phypers and Denise Richards Robin L Marshall/Getty Images
“Later that day, Aaron chased me and grabbed both of my arms forcefully and pushed me and dragged me to the ground,” she said. “I landed on the stairs, causing immense pain. Aaron stole my laptop and sent private messages he had stolen from my laptop without my permission.”
She added, “Aaron threatened that I would ‘disappear’ if I called the police.”
In her petition, Richards recalled another alleged incident on May 21. She claimed that, “while I was asleep and without my permission, Aaron went into my settings on my laptop and through my iCloud account synched my iMessages (texts) to my laptop and downloaded everything from my iCloud (included my private text messages) onto my laptop and then took pictures of my text messages (which were then on my laptop).”
Aaron Phypers and Denise Richards John Lamparski/Getty Images
She said Phypers “transferred my text messages to his laptop.” She said he woke her up screaming, “You f***ing bitch. I went into your computer and saw your text messages because your laptop were open while you were watching the movie on Netflix. I clicked sync iMessage so that your text messages would appear on your laptop and everything downloaded and I took photo of everything you lying bitch.”
“Later, while I was on the toilet peeing, Aaron smashed me on the top of my head with the palm of his hand while screaming at me, ‘Give me your f***ing phone.’”
Aaron Phypers and Denise Richards Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Richards accused Phypers of repeatedly abusing her during their marriage. She said he owns eight unregistered guns. “He has told me multiple times over the course of the last two years that because the guns are unregistered that if he used them, no one would be able to track them,” she said.
During another incident on May 1, Richards claimed Phypers grabbed her by the back of her head by the hair and slammed her into the ground.
Denise Richards and her family are far from camera shy. The actress first offered fans insight into her life when appearing on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for two seasons from 2019 to 2020. Five years later, in 2025, she peeled back the curtain once again via her own Bravo reality series, Denis Richards […]
“You are not cancelling my flight, I am going with you and I do not trust you,” she claimed.
Richards pleaded that Phypers be ordered to stay 100 yards away from her and return her laptops and everything he downloaded from her phone.
Aaron Phypers and Denise Richards Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
In her filing, she said she moved out of the family home in 2023 due to marital issues and leased three townhouses. “I am the only person on the lease to the three townhouses. Beginning on July 4, 2025, I have repeatedly told Aaron that he is not allowed at any of my townhouses anymore, yet he has repeatedly entered the townhouses unexpectedly,” she said. Richards also attached two photos of a black eye Phypers allegedly caused her on January 17. She claimed Phypers had struck her in the eye.
The court granted Richards a temporary restraining order until a court hearing later this month.
The request for protection comes after Phypers filed for divorce on July 7, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
