Aaron Phypers has accused estranged wife Denise Richards of having an addiction to the painkiller Vicodin and an “ongoing” affair, according to Page Six, which obtained a letter written by Phypers that reportedly contained the allegations.
The claims come in the wake of Phypers filing for divorce from “The Bold and the Beautiful” actor on July 7 and Richards obtaining a temporary restraining order against him early last week.
The letter, said to be addressed to friends and family, alleges that the former Real Housewife is addicted to Vicodin and Adderall and combines the drugs with tequila. He also said that he and his parents had been mistreated since his divorce filing. “This isn’t just a relationship breaking down. It’s a cry for help,” he alleges, per Page Six, and asks for prayers for Richards.
“Some of you know this has been an issue for over 20 years. She’s no longer eating real meals, and I’ve witnessed her pass out from substances — putting herself and others in danger, including while driving with our daughter,” Phypers wrote.
Richards’ divorce attorney Brett Berman said in a statement that his client would not be responding to “false allegations in a public forum” but would address the alleged abuse in court.
“In addition to the repeated abuse perpetrated by Mr. Phypers against Ms. Richards throughout the parties’ marriage, Mr. Phypers has continued to harass Ms. Richards since being served with the Temporary Restraining Order by, among other things, disseminating private information from Ms. Richards’ cell phone and laptop, which he stole,” Berman said. “These actions continue to disturb Ms. Richards’ peace. We have warned Mr. Phypers in writing not to disseminate any information from Ms. Richards’ stolen cell phone and laptop but, he continues to do so.”
In his letter, Phypers also claimed he had “never, ever” physically harmed Richards, despite her allegations in last week’s restraining order application. And he wrote, per Page Six, that he found evidence earlier this year that she was having an affair. He said Richards denied having an affair, despite alleged “explicit messages” he said he had discovered.
Richards’ allegations in her restraining order request were more dramatic. “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,” she alleged in her filing.
She included photos of herself with a black eye and alleged that Phypers regularly called her profane and demeaning names and periodically threatened to kill her or himself.
The temporary stay-away order was granted immediately, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 8 to make the restraining order permanent.
Richards adopted daughter Eloise, now 14, as an infant in 2011; she and Phypers started dating in 2017 and married in September 2018, a month after his divorce from Nicollette Sheridan was final. Richards shares two adult daughters, Sam and Lola, with ex-husband Charlie Sheen.
Phypers’ legal slate is filling up lately. In addition to his divorce filing and Richards’ restraining order, he was sued in January for alleged fraud linked to verbal claims he made about the efficacy of a stem-cell treatment available at his Malibu wellness center. The lawsuit was brought by the husband of a woman who died from cancer after Phypers allegedly told her in 2023, according to People, that she would be cured, or at least much improved, by his $126,000 treatment.