This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
Denise Richards has offered her most detailed public account yet of the breakdown of her marriage to Aaron Phypers, describing a relationship she says gradually became controlling, frightening and abusive.
During the Aug. 3 episode of Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde Podcast, the 55-year-old actress said the marriage did not begin with violence, but changed enough over time that she struggled to recognize the man she had married. Richards characterized the alleged mistreatment as physical, emotional and financial.
The interview moved beyond the usual details of a celebrity divorce and focused on a question frequently directed at people who describe abusive relationships: Why did they stay? Richards said fear, confusion and the steady erosion of her confidence left her feeling trapped, even when she knew the situation was wrong. She described her response not as acceptance, but as survival.
Phypers has denied physically or emotionally abusing Richards and called her allegations false and harmful. He has also accused her of abuse and infidelity, claims she disputed during the podcast. Their competing accounts remain part of an ongoing and deeply contentious divorce case.
Richards Says the Marriage Changed After the Wedding
Richards and Phypers began dating in 2017 and married in Malibu in September 2018. Phypers filed for divorce on July 7, 2025, citing irreconcilable differences and listing July 4 as their separation date. He also requested spousal support and asked that several assets and debts be treated as separate property.
Looking back, Richards said Phypers eventually seemed like a “different person than the person I married.” She told Bunnie Xo that she felt conned by the change and had never imagined finding herself in such a situation. Their relationship lasted more than eight years, including slightly more than six years of marriage.
Richards alleged that the first physical incident occurred after they married and after Phypers obtained his green card. She said she was shocked when he allegedly struck her, particularly because her father had warned that a man who hits once may do so again. Even then, she said Phypers appeared so remorseful that she minimized what happened and began questioning her own judgment.
She alleged that some injuries could be hidden beneath clothing, but said the situation became harder to conceal when she suffered a black eye. Richards recalled worrying about what she would tell other people and how she could explain the visible injury. That moment, she said, made the seriousness of the situation difficult to ignore.
She Explains Why Leaving Felt Impossible
Richards said outsiders often assume someone facing abuse will immediately recognize the danger and walk away. Her experience, she said, was more complicated because fear and emotional pressure built gradually. By the time she understood the seriousness of the situation, she felt worn down and uncertain about how to leave safely.
She described one alleged incident that followed a police response to an argument at a home where Phypers and a relative were present. Richards said that after officers left, Phypers insulted her and hit her, leaving her with a black eye. She said the experience deepened her fear of involving law enforcement because the alleged violence occurred after police had already departed.
Richards said she was “scared to leave” and believed the alleged behavior had begun to feel normal inside the relationship, despite knowing it was wrong. She described herself as emotionally beaten down and unable to see a clear way out. “It’s survival,” she said while explaining the imbalance she felt between herself and Phypers.
In earlier court filings, Richards accused Phypers of repeatedly hitting, choking and threatening her. Her request for protection included photographs and claims that she feared reporting him because of alleged threats against her, himself and police. Phypers denied the accusations, saying he had never physically or emotionally abused Richards or anyone else.
Richards Denies Cheating and Striking Phypers
The podcast also allowed Richards to answer accusations made against her. She denied ever hitting Phypers and rejected his claim that she had been unfaithful. However, she acknowledged exchanging messages with another man that she considered inappropriate.
Richards said those messages became the subject of a confrontation shortly after she underwent a facelift. She maintained that she had remained loyal during the marriage, even though the texts crossed a boundary. She described the public accusations and legal battle that followed as a profound betrayal.
Phypers has presented a sharply different version of the relationship. In court, he denied harming or threatening Richards and disputed her claim that he caused her concussions. His earlier public statement called the abuse allegations “completely false and deeply hurtful.”
Richards’ podcast allegations remain disputed, although a civil court granted her a five-year restraining order in November 2025 after hearings in which both parties testified. The order restricted Phypers from contacting Richards and imposed other conditions. It was separate from the financial decisions later issued in the divorce proceedings.
Their Divorce Remains Unresolved
The financial fight has continued alongside the abuse allegations. In February 2026, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Richards to pay Phypers $5,000 a month in temporary spousal support, plus $25,000 in divorce-related attorney fees and $5,000 for a forensic accountant. The temporary order did not end the marriage or determine the final division of assets.
Richards said the court process and Phypers’ public accusations were among the most painful parts of the split. Her comments suggested the emotional damage came not only from the alleged violence, but also from feeling that someone she trusted had turned against her. She said the betrayal was especially difficult to process after years of believing they were building a life together.
The Aug. 3 podcast episode ran for nearly two hours and also covered Richards’ career, motherhood, beauty standards and earlier marriage to Charlie Sheen. Still, her account of Phypers formed the most serious portion of the conversation. The episode gave Richards space to explain her position after months of court hearings and conflicting public claims.
For Richards, the central message was that leaving an allegedly abusive relationship cannot always be reduced to a single decision. She described a slow loss of confidence, growing fear and the challenge of rebuilding control. Phypers continues to deny her account, leaving the divorce court to address the remaining legal and financial disputes.
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