Denise Richards Claims She Unknowingly Paid Estranged Husband's Alleged Mistress
The actress revealed on a podcast that she covered the salary and severance of an employee Phypers was allegedly having an affair with.
Denise Richards has revealed that she believes she unknowingly paid the salary and severance of an employee with whom her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, was allegedly having an affair. Richards made the disclosure during an appearance on "The Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg Show."
"A woman he was having an affair with at his work, an employee. I paid her payroll, her severance," Richards stated on the Oct. 13 episode. She added, "I don't know how she looked me in the face."
The former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star, who has been involved in a contentious legal battle with Phypers for over a year, said she did not become aware of the alleged infidelity, along with "multiple" other affairs, until after the couple separated.
Richards was granted a five-year restraining order against Phypers on November 7, 2025, following accusations of physical and emotional abuse. The order is set to expire in November 2030. Phypers was arrested in October 2025 on spousal abuse charges related to incidents in 2017 and 2022, according to court documents. Richards testified in court that Phypers allegedly leaked nude photos of her after stealing her laptop, as part of an effort to damage her reputation during their relationship fallout.
In court documents filed on July 16, Richards claimed Phypers engaged in a pattern of abuse, stating, "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."
She further alleged that Phypers would threaten to "break my jaw" and then cry, begging her to stay and promising to seek help, which she stated never materialized. Richards also claimed Phypers caused her at least three concussions.
Phypers has denied Richards' allegations in statements to the press. Representatives for Richards and Phypers did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.