Actor and reality TV star Denise Richards has been granted a temporary restraining order against her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, after she accused him of physical and verbal abuse.
The documents, filed Wednesday by Richards, 45, included details of the alleged abuse as well as gruesome photos of her alleged injuries.
“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 alleged in the court documents, obtained by People.
“Aaron regularly threatened to ‘break my jaw’ and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help — none of which ever happened.”
In two of the photos submitted, one of Richards’s eyes is badly bruised and swollen.
The Wild Things star additionally claimed that Richards has “repeatedly abused” her throughout their marriage and “has caused me at least three concussions.” She claimed that she’s been “afraid” to report Phypers until now “because he has repeatedly threatened to kill himself and me if I reported him to the police, among his other threats of harm to me and himself if he is reported for his abuse to anyone.”
Phypers, 52, whom Richards married in 2018, vehemently denied the accusations, telling TMZ the claims are “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 Independent has contacted Phypers and a representative for Richards for comment.
The bombshell accusations come weeks after Phypers filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In the documents, Phypers requested spousal support and the return of his power tools.
He claimed that Richards’ monthly income is $250,000, while he’s allegedly made zero dollars during the last year after his business shuttered, US Weekly reported.
The couple, who began dating in June 2017 and tied the knot during a September 2018 ceremony that was documented on the ninth season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, share no children. However, Phypers listed Richards’s youngest daughter, Eloise, 14, as his stepdaughter.
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Richards adopted Eloise immediately after her birth in May 2011. The Starship Troopers actor has two older daughters, 21-year-old Sami and 20-year-old Lola, from her previous marriage to Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen.
The national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated men’s advice line on 0808 8010 327. Those in the US can call the domestic violence hotline on 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
