Denise Richards' ex Aaron Phypers claims he caught her cheating before blowout fight and divorce filing
Phypers, 52, filed for divorce from Richards, 54, earlier this month after six years of marriage, listing July 4 as the official date of separation.
Phypers — whom Richards has accused of physical abuse — alleges he discovered that his now estranged wife had cheated on him earlier this year in an interview with TMZ.
The businessman claims he found texts between Richards and another man on her laptop, including several selfies and affectionate messages like her wishing him 'sweet dreams.'
He also claims other messages suggested Richards and the other man were planning a hotel rendezvous, with her trying to sneak him into her room.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Richards' representatives for comment.
Phypers claims he confronted Richards about the alleged affair, and they decided to remain together.
But a major July 4th weekend dispute ultimately prompted him to file for divorce.
Richards has claimed the altercation started when Phypers verbally abused her and demanded his phone.
Phypers says his phone was missing for over a day, and when he asked Richards about it, she allegedly hit and scratched him. He later found the phone smashed in the recycling bin.
He believes Richards smashed his phone because it had photos of the texts proving she had the alleged affair.
He claims Richards texted his mother that weekend, stating her intention to divorce him, which prompted him to file for divorce first.
Phypers filed for divorce July 7, citing irreconcilable differences.
While Richards has yet to formally respond in court to Phypers' petition, which seeks spousal support, she has made serious allegations of abuse against him.
On Wednesday, the former actress asked a Los Angeles judge for a restraining order – claiming her estranged spouse had routinely been violent towards her during their marriage and had blacked her eye after becoming paranoid about listening devices concealed in potted plants.
Phypers has denied the claims, and says the black eye seen on Richards in a shocking photo included in her latest explosive court filing was actually the result of a drunken fall.
A judge granted a domestic violence restraining order against Phypers.
Phypers claims she sought the domestic violence restraining order to deflect attention from her alleged affair.
He reiterated that he did not physically abuse Richards, stating, 'I did not hit my wife in the face, ever.'
He also claimed Richards 'falls down a lot. And it's embarrassing, and people know it', after previously claiming the black eye was the result of a drunken fall.
The pair's marriage was plagued by other issues as well.
Phypers shared photos from inside their shared home, showing the residence in disarray and littered with numerous items.
He claims that he and his family were burdened with the responsibility of caring for Richards' properties and animals.
A source close to Phypers recently insisted to DailyMail.com that he has never raised a hand to Richards, and dismissed the allegations as lies.
The insider said: 'This is consistent with the ongoing untruthfulness of Denise Richards who is trying to hide her alcohol problem.'
Referring to a photo of her with a black eye which she submitted as evidence in her petition for the restraining order, the insider said: 'That photo was taken in winter 2022 and the fact is, she was drunk at the time and fell coming up the steps to Aaron's clinic Q360.'
After Richards filed for a restraining order, submitting a photo of her with a black eye, a source close to Phypers claimed the injury wasn't the result of abuse, but rather from Richards drunkenly falling up the stairs
The source said Richards was on her way up to Phypers' now-shuttered clinic, Q360 Club in Malibu (pictured in 2020), when she drunkenly fell - catching her eye on the corner of the stairs - and that multiple witnesses saw the aftermath of them immediately icing the injury when she arrived at the office
'She fell and caught the corner of her eye on the stairs and then came up to the office where they treated her and put ice on it.'
'There were lots of people in the office at the time, all of whom saw what happened. Aaron has never touched her and never would.'
Richards has previously spoken about her addiction battle and, in 2023, sparked concern when she appeared to slur her words during an episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Phypers also issued his own statement denouncing his estranged wife's recent allegations, saying: '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. These accusations are completely false and deeply hurtful.'
'Denise and I, like many couples, have faced our share of challenges, but any suggestion of abuse is categorically untrue.'
'I have always tried to approach our marriage with love, patience and respect. I ask for privacy as we navigate personal matters, and I hope that the public and media will refrain from spreading harmful and baseless claims.'
The divorce battle began two weeks ago when Phypers filed to end his marriage – blindsiding Richards who had said publicly that she never wanted to go through a divorce again.
Along with the filing, he asked for spousal support totaling $105,000-a-month and said his income was 'zero' following the closure of his clinic last October.
As a result, he relies on his wife's income which he claimed in court was $250,000-a-month, most of it earned via OnlyFans and her now canceled reality show Denise Richards & Her Wild Things.
Richards admitted to facing challenges in her marriage earlier this year during an episode of her reality show Denise Richards and Her Wild Things.
The mom-of-three said in a March episode of the E! reality show: 'It's not easy being married to me, but this is it, I'm done.
'I'm never getting divorced again. Even if we hate each other, I'm not gonna f****** get divorced.'
For his part, Phypers chimed in that they might even live in separate houses, but insisted, 'We're not gonna hate each other.'
Richards was previously married to wild child actor Charlie Sheen who she divorced in April 2006 while pregnant with their second child Sami.
Along with divorce papers, she also slapped Sheen, 59, with a restraining order banning him from coming any closer than 300ft from his ex-wife and daughters.
In 2010, she was awarded sole legal custody of their children with sources citing 'marital turmoil, sobriety issues, and criminal problems' for the decision.
The latter refers to Sheen's arrest on Christmas Day 2009 for assaulting his third wife Brooke Mueller in an Aspen, Colorado, property during a festive break.
Sheen was later convicted of misdemeanor assault and slapped with 30 days in rehab, 30 days of probation, and 36 hours of anger management.
Richards moved on with her life and adopted a third daughter Eloise in June 2011 and started dating Phypers in December 2017 before marrying him less than a year later in September 2018.
The marriage got off to a rocky start when it was revealed the pair had begun dating before Phypers' divorce from Desperate Housewives actress Nicolette Sheridan was finalized.
Phypers later adopted Richards' daughter Eloise.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump uses Sydney Sweeney as reason to randomly attack Taylor Swift
Donald Trump lauded Sydney Sweeney 's American Eagle jeans advert, calling it the "'HOTTEST' ad out there" shortly after discovering she is a registered Republican. Trump used his praise for Sweeney to criticise "WOKE" advertising, reigniting his feud with pop star Taylor Swift, whom he claimed was "NO LONGER HOT." The American Eagle commercial, titled "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," has drawn significant criticism for allegedly promoting "eugenic ideals" through wordplay on "jeans" and "genes." American Eagle defended the advert, clarifying that it was solely about Sweeney's jeans and her personal story, not about genetic traits. The controversy sparked a political debate, with Trump's allies defending Sweeney and the advert against "cancel culture," while some Democrats mocked the conservative support.
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tennessee set to execute inmate without turning off his implanted defibrillator
Tennessee is set to execute an inmate Tuesday without deactivating his implanted defibrillator, as uncertainty lingers about whether the device will shock his heart when a lethal drug takes effect. Barring a late reprieve requested from the governor or the courts, Byron Black 's execution will go forward after a legal back-and-forth over whether the state would need to turn off his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD. The nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center said it's unaware of any other cases in which an inmate was making similar claims to Black about ICDs or pacemakers. The execution would be Tennessee's second since May, after a pause for five years, first because of COVID-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee Department of Correction. Twenty-seven men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and nine other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. The number of executions this year exceeds the 25 carried out last year and in 2018. It is the highest total since 2015, when 28 people were put to death. Black's condition Black, 69, is in a wheelchair, suffering from dementia, brain damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure and other conditions, his attorneys have said. In mid-July, a trial court judge agreed with Black's attorneys that officials must have the instrument deactivated to avert the risk that it could cause unnecessary pain and prolong the execution. But the state Supreme Court intervened July 31 to overturn that decision, saying the other judge lacked the authority to order the change. The state has disputed that the lethal injection would cause Black's defibrillator to shock him. Even if shocks were triggered, Black wouldn't feel them, the state has added. Black's attorneys have countered that even if the lethal drug being used, pentobarbital, renders someone unresponsive, they aren't necessarily unaware or unable to feel pain. Black's case Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya Clay, 9, and Lakeisha Clay, 6. Prosecutors said he was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting Clay's estranged husband. Linette Bell, whose sister and two nieces were killed, recently told WKRN-TV: 'He didn't have mercy on them, so why should we have mercy on him?' 'It feels like it is never-ending,' Bell told the news outlet. 'They aren't even resting in their own grave.' Medical considerations An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a small, battery-powered electronic device that is surgically implanted in the chest, typically near the left collarbone. It serves as a pacemaker and an emergency defibrillator. Black's attorneys say the only way to be sure it's off is for a doctor to place a programming device over the implant site, sending it a deactivation command, with no surgery required. The legal case also spurred a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions a violation of health care ethics. While the judge's order to deactivate the device was in place, state officials said Nashville General Hospital practitioners would do the procedure the day before at the hospital, but wouldn't travel to the prison on execution day as the court required. The judge offered some leeway, allowing the procedure at the hospital on the morning of the execution. But Nashville General then released a statement saying the state's contractor didn't reach out to proper hospital leadership and that there had been no agreement to do the work. Intellectual disability claim In recent years, Black's legal team has also tried and failed to get a new hearing over whether he is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court precedent. His attorneys have said that if they had delayed a prior attempt to seek his intellectual disability claim, he would have been spared under a 2021 state law. Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk contended in 2022 that Black is intellectually disabled and deserves a hearing under that 2021 law, but the judge denied it. That is because an inmate can't get an intellectual disability hearing under the 2021 law if they have already filed a similar request and a court has ruled on it 'on the merits." In Funk's attempt, he focused on input from an expert for the state in 2004 who determined back then that Black didn't meet the criteria for what was then called "mental retardation.' But she concluded that Black met the new law's criteria for a diagnosis of intellectual disability. Black has also been seeking a determination by the courts that he is incompetent to be executed.
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Former DOJ Trump ‘loyalty test' prosecutors are planning to run for office and fight back
At this time last year, Ryan Crosswell was hard at work trying to put New York City's mayor in prison on corruption charges while serving as a prosecutor in the Justice Department. But after resigning in protest over the Trump administration's decision to drop the case against Mayor Eric Adams and cut back on prosecutions of public corruption cases, he's looking at a switching careers to making laws instead of enforcing them. According to CBS News, Crosswell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, left the department in February amid the uproar over the dropping of charges against Adams, a move which at the time was framed as a way to enable the mayor to better assist the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Four months later, he announced a campaign for the House of Representatives seat for Pennsylvania's seventh district against Republican Ryan Mackenzie, telling the television network: "If you're a Marine and you're a former prosecutor, you are protecting people." Crosswell is just one of a number of ex-federal prosecutors looking to continue public service careers by seeking election to various offices across the United States. The former prosecutors all have one thing in common — they left federal service in the tumultuous opening months of the Trump administration amid what have been described as loyalty tests as a condition of remaining in the government. Erika Evans, the granddaughter of Olympic track-and-field medalist Lee Evans, left the Department of Justice in March on account of the changes made to the Civil Rights Division under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. Dhillon, a longtime GOP activist, has made it a priority to refocus the division away from protecting racial minorities towards pushing back on alleged anti-white discrimination. Evans told CBS she resigned after receiving emails asking for DOJ employees to report colleagues involved in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work that the Trump administration has banned. "We received emails requiring that we report any colleagues doing diversity work in the office. We had 10 to 14 days to report them or we would get in trouble ourselves," Evans said. "That was pretty disgusting." Now, she's looking to resume her public service career as Seattle's elected City Attorney. In a video released by her campaign, she says she'll 'take on Trump' if elected and 'demand the community safety we deserve' from the federal government. She explained how she'd wanted to spend her career in public service but felt she had to leave because of the Trump administration's priorities. "When I realized that that was not going to be possible any longer with the values that the Trump administration was having for the department, I knew I needed to shift,' she said.
