NOTE: The following article contains disturbing details. Please read at your own discretion. Denise Richards has accused her estranged husband Aaron Phypers of years of alleged physical and verbal abuse.
Richards, 54, filed a temporary restraining order against Phypers, 52, claiming that he "regularly threatened to 'break my jaw' and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help - none of which ever happened."In court documents, filed on July 16 and viewed by USA Today and other outlets, Richards wrote that Phypers "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," Richards alleged in the documents. Story continues below advertisement Richards said that throughout her marriage to Phypers, he has "threatened to kill me and himself and the police. He owns at least 8 unregistered guns."The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum also attached several photos to the filing, including one in which she has a black eye, claiming it was a result of Phypers' abuse. More on Entertainment More videos Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' is being cancelled, CBS cites 'financial decision' Suspect in killing of 'American Idol' music supervisor charged with murder Manitoba to spend $2M on upgrades to Spruce Woods Provincial Park Magic of 'The Lion King' comes to life at the Jubilee Auditorium Arnold Goes to Events: BC Lions practice Sloan rocks thousands with return to Peterborough Musicfest 41st Taste of Edmonton underway in the downtown core Red solo cup confessions: Meghan Patrick spills on Schitt's Creek, Kid Rock and famous friends in her phonebook "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," Richards wrote, according to People.
In the legal documents, Richards also detailed a recent incident that she claims took place over the July 4 weekend. She alleged that Phypers beat her and hacked into her private messages. She urged the judge to take into account the seriousness of the alleged attacks and said she feared it would happen again."On July 4, 2025, Aaron repeatedly got within two inches of my face and screamed at me degrading profanities," Richards wrote. "Aaron repeatedly grabbed my left arm tightly." Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. "On July 5, 2025, Aaron came into my townhouse with his father and got within inches of my face and began yelling at me... with his right hand violently hit the bill of my hat with the back of his hand, which caused my hat to fly off my head," she added. Story continues below advertisement Richards said later that same day her estranged husband "chased me and grabbed both of my arms forcefully and pushed me and dragged me to the ground.""I landed hard on the stairs causing me immense pain," she wrote. "Aaron stole my laptop and sent private text messages he had stolen from my laptop without my permission. Aaron threatened that I would 'disappear' if I called the police."The Wild Things actor claimed that she didn't report the past alleged abuse because she believed it would result in more damage."Until now, I have been afraid to report Aaron to the police or file for a restraining order because he has repeatedly threatened to kill himself and me if I reported him to the police," Richards wrote. 4:03 Denise Richards on her new movie 'Hunting Housewives' Richards also alleged that while she was asleep, Phypers went into her laptop and downloaded everything from her iCloud account and transferred it to his laptop. Story continues below advertisement The Drop Dead Gorgeous actor also alleged that Phypers screamed at her and smashed her over the head while she was on the toilet, while demanding that she hand over her phone. Richards is asking that Phypers have no contact with her and that he stays away from her home and workplace, as well as return the electronic devices she alleges he stole from her. Trending Now Canada's income gap reaches record high, Statistics Canada finds Daredevil skydiver Felix Baumgartner dies while paragliding in Italy She also noted that she wanted Phypers to be "prohibited from using, delivering, copying, printing or disclosing any text messages, emails, photos, notes or other content from my cell phone or laptop or any other electronic device."The Denise Richards & Her Wild Things star requested tha