Denise Richards is opening up about her painful split from estranged husband Aaron Phypers and claiming their marriage became physically, emotionally and financially abusive.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum appeared on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast on August 3, where she got candid about her marriage, their ongoing divorce and the alleged abuse she says she experienced behind closed doors.
“Obviously, I was in an abusive marriage,” Denise said. “It didn’t start out that way physically…Physically, emotionally, financially, all of it.”
Denise claimed Aaron became a completely different person after they got married.
“He was a completely different person than the person I married.”
Denise and Phypers tied the knot in Malibu in September 2018 after dating for less than a year. Looking back, Denise said she now feels like she was misled about who he really was.
When Bunnie asked if Denise felt “conned” by Aaron, Denise did not hesitate.
“Absolutely. Definitely,” Denise replied. “That’s the hardest part of it.”
Denise explained that she and Aaron were together for more than eight years and married for a little over six.
“We were together for just over eight years and married for a little over six,” Denise said. “I never thought I would ever be in this situation.”
Aaron filed for divorce on July 7, 2025, listing their separation date as three days earlier. In his filing, he requested spousal support, legal fees and several personal property items.
Denise said she now understands why people ask abuse victims why they did not leave sooner, but she said the situation was not that simple.
“Now I understand why people ask, ‘Why didn’t you leave?’ or say, ‘You should have known. You should have seen the signs,’” Denise said.
She added, “A lot of people ask me that, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t have married the person if I had.”
Denise claimed she has learned a lot about Aaron since their separation and said he initially appeared to be a very different person.
She described Aaron as someone who “seemed like a really good man” and said he was “very low-key,” a “guy’s guy” and “very nurturing” when they first got together.
However, Denise claimed things slowly changed.
Denise said Aaron became “verbally abusive” and described the alleged abuse as a gradual process.
“And it was a slow burn,” Denise said. “This wasn’t overnight. It was like slowly chipping away, putting doubts in my head about certain things.”
Denise also recalled the first time she claims Aaron allegedly became physically abusive.
“I’ll never forget the one time when he first hit me; I was so shocked,” Denise said. “I was like, ‘Oh, f—. There’s no going back from this.’”
She claimed Aaron “slapped me across my face.”
According to Denise, Aaron was so remorseful after the alleged incident that she ended up feeling bad for him.
Denise also said one of her biggest mistakes was allowing Aaron to become involved in her finances.
She claimed she agreed to let him help with her money and even added him as a signer on one of her accounts.
“He made me believe he was taking care of me and wanted to build a life with me,” Denise claimed. “I really felt like we were building a life together.”
Denise said her daughter Sami Sheen “saw right through” Aaron from the beginning.
The actress also claimed the alleged abuse eventually became normalized in their home.
“Our normal became where I would be hit or pushed down on the ground, or some threat of something, and that became almost my normal,” Denise claimed. “And I knew it was wrong, but I was so beaten down, and I didn’t know how to leave.”
Denise further claimed Aaron had guns and allegedly threatened her with them. She said she eventually moved out with her daughters while Aaron stayed in their leased home with his family, who had moved from Canada during COVID-19.
Denise said the final breaking point came when Aaron allegedly slapped her while she was still hospitalized after undergoing surgery.
“But when he did that to me, when I was that vulnerable, I knew, ‘He’s going to kill me,’” Denise claimed.
Denise said she gave Aaron an ultimatum, asking him to go to anger management and move his family out of their home. However, she claimed things only got “worse.”
She also claimed Aaron filed for divorce behind her back shortly after she underwent a 2025 facelift, and said she learned about the filing from her daughter Sami after the news became public.
Aaron has not publicly responded to all of Denise’s latest allegations from the podcast.