The divorce between Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers keeps escalating — she's paying him support

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers are currently divorced following a six-year marriage that legally ended in late 2025. Their relationship collapsed amidst intense legal battles, multiple domestic abuse allegations, criminal charges, and a multi-year restraining order.

Key takeaways

• Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers began dating in 2017 after meeting at his wellness centre.
• The couple married in September 2018 in a Malibu ceremony after a short engagement.
• Their marriage ended in 2025 when Phypers filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences and requests spousal support.
• The divorce became contentious after Richards accused Phypers of domestic abuse and threats, leading to a five-year restraining order that was finalised in November 2025.
• In Feruary 2026, a Los Angeles judge ordered Richards to pay Phypers $5,000 monthly temporary spousal support and $30,000 in legal fees.

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Inside Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers’ relationship timeline

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers’ relationship moved quickly from their first meeting in 2017 to marriage the following year. The couple shared years together in the public eye before their marriage ended in 2025, leading to a contentious divorce and ongoing legal disputes. Here’s a look at their relationship timeline:

June 2017: Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers meet at his wellness centre

Denise Richards first met Aaron Phypers while visiting his Malibu wellness clinic, Quantum 360, for anti-ageing and DNA repair treatments. Richards later revealed on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills that their relationship quickly became serious after they started dating.

She joked on the show,

I started to see Aaron at his centre. We would start talking about different things because we knew a lot of the same people and same interests. I’ve never dated someone where I was going to them for a professional service.

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At the time, Richards was already known for her Hollywood career and her previous marriage to Charlie Sheen. She was also raising her daughters, Sam and Lola, and later adopted daughter Eloise.

January 2018: Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers gets engaged

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers got engaged in January 2018 after dating for several months. The couple chose to keep the engagement private and did not publicly announce it until later that year. A source told Us Weekly:

Denise has been engaged to Aaron since January. They have just kept it quiet because they didn’t want a lot of attention leading up to the wedding.

August 2018: Aaron Phypers’ divorce is finalised

Aaron Phypers’ divorce from actress Nicollette Sheridan was finalised on 17 August 2018, nearly two years after they separated. The timing was significant because Phypers was already in a relationship with Denise Richards.

September 2018: Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers get married

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers tied the knot on 8 September 2018, in a private beachside ceremony in Malibu, California. Their wedding was captured for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, just days after their engagement became public.

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Richards later explained that they chose the date because the number eight held special meaning for Phypers, who believed it represented infinity. She told Entertainment Tonight:

I didn't know the date... we were trying to figure that out. And then the 8th is a very significant number for him. He says it means infinity, so we just decided, 'You know what, we don't want to wait, and let's just do it.' I called [celebrity event planner] Mindy Weiss, and we pulled it together very quickly.

2019 – 2024: Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers on RHOBH

After marrying in 2018, Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers continued their relationship away from the cameras for several years, although Phypers appeared alongside Richards during her time on the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Richards later returned to reality TV with her family in Denise Richards & Her Wild Things, which premiered on Bravo in March 2025.

March 2025: Denise says she'll never divorce again

During the premiere of Denise Richards & Her Wild Things in March 2025, Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers discussed the challenges of their marriage. Richards joked that “it’s not easy being married to me,” prompting Phypers to respond, “But this is it. I’m done.”

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As reported by Bravo, Richards then made a strong statement about their future, saying,

I’m never getting divorced again. Even if we hate each other, I’m not gonna f---ing get divorced.

Phypers appeared to agree with her, suggesting they could live separately if their relationship ever became difficult. He said:

We’ll just have different homes or something. But we’re not gonna hate each other,

July 2025: Aaron Phypers files for divorce

Aaron Phypers filed for divorce from Denise Richards on 7 July 2025, after nearly seven years of marriage. According to court documents obtained by People magazine, he cited “irreconcilable differences” and listed their separation date as July 4.

July 2025: Richards obtains temporary restraining order

Just days later after Aaron Phypers filing for divorce, Richards sought a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Phypers. In her filing, the former actress accused Phypers of severe physical, verbal, and digital abuse throughout their six-year marriage.

She alleged he caused her at least three concussions, frequently choked her, and repeatedly threatened to kill both her and himself. She also provided photographic evidence of injuries, including a black eye. In the court documents obtained by TMZ, the former actress wrote:

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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

In a statement to TMZ, Phypers denied the allegations, saying:

Not true. I have all the details. She is creating a story to save her image reporting a conjured up story when I have all the real evidence,

The Los Angeles County Superior Court granted the temporary order, requiring Phypers to stay at least 100 yards away from Richards, her home, her vehicle, and her workplace. He was also ordered to surrender any firearms.

August 2025: Richards files a motion to evict Phypers from their Calabasas property

On 19 August 2025, Denise Richards filed court documents asking a judge to have Aaron Phypers and his family temporarily vacate the Calabasas rental home they once shared. Richards said she had moved out about two years earlier and wanted access to retrieve her belongings and dogs.

The reality star also claimed Phypers had stopped paying the rent, prompting the landlord to begin eviction proceedings.

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October 2025: Phypers arrested during restraining order hearing

On 17 October 2025, during a break in one of their contentious restraining order hearings, Phypers was arrested inside the courthouse on a felony warrant. The State of California charged him with two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of witness intimidation.

Phypers was subsequently released on a $200,000 bond. Three of the alleged incidents took place on 17 January 2022, and one on 3 May 2022.

November 2025: Judge grants Richards five-year permanent restraining order

On 7 November 2025, a judge granted Denise Richards a five-year restraining order against Aaron Phypers, replacing the temporary order issued earlier in the year. The order is set to remain in effect until 7 November 2030.

The judge cited evidence of what was described as “classic domestic violence” and found that Phypers had shared Richards’ private text messages and photos online. The order also required him to return her laptop and delete copies of her personal files.

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February 2026: Richards ordered to pay spousal support

On 26 February 2026, a Los Angeles judge ordered Denise Richards to pay Aaron Phypers $5,000 per month in temporary spousal support, with payments beginning March 5 and continuing until further court order.

According to People magazine, the judge also ordered Richards to cover $25,000 in Phypers’ attorney fees and $5,000 for a forensic accountant, bringing the additional fees to $30,000.

Per Page Six, the ruling concerned the financial needs of the divorce proceedings and was separate from Phypers' pending criminal case.

July 2026: Phypers seeks contempt over allegedly unpaid support

On 21 July 2026, Aaron Phypers filed court documents asking that Denise Richards be held in contempt, claiming she had not made the full temporary spousal-support payments ordered by the court.

As documented by US Weekly, in the newly filed paperwork, Phypers alleged that Richards had made only partial payments since the February order and still owed $13,500 in spousal support. He also claimed she owed $28,000 in attorney fees, bringing the total amount he said was outstanding to $41,500.

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Phypers also accused Richards of “stonewalling” the divorce by allegedly failing to provide additional paperwork. A hearing on his contempt request is scheduled for 14 September 2026.

FAQs

1. Who is Denise Richards? Denise Richards is an American actress, model and television personality known for films such as Wild Things and The World Is Not Enough, as well as the cast of RHOBH.
2. What does Aaron Phypers do for a living? Aaron Phypers is a former actor and reality TV personality who has worked in wellness and frequency medicine.
3. Is Denise Richards still married to Aaron? Phypers filed for divorce from Richards on 7 July 2025, after nearly seven years of marriage.
4. Why did Denise and Aaron split? Phypers cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split, while their divorce later involved competing abuse allegations and financial disputes.
5. How much does Denise Richards have to pay Aaron Phypers? Richards was ordered to pay Phypers $5,000 per month in temporary spousal support, plus $30,000 toward his legal and forensic-accounting fees.
6. Does Aaron Phypers have to pay spousal support? The February 2026 order requires Richards to pay Phypers temporary spousal support.
7. Does Aaron Phypers have any children? The reality TV personality has no publicly documented biological children, but he helped raise Richards’ adopted daughter, Eloise.

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Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers’ relationship began with a quick romance and marriage in 2018, but their nearly seven-year marriage eventually ended in a highly public divorce in 2025. Their split has since involved serious allegations and ongoing legal and financial disputes, making their relationship one of the more complicated chapters in Richards’ personal life.

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