All signs Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers would divorce from lesbian affair rumors to THAT chilling threat
Though the pair managed to stay married for six years, their relationship was marked by turbulence and a string of eyebrow-raising moments, many of which played out in front of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cameras.
One of the most unsettling incidents occurred when Phypers, 52, was caught on camera threatening to crush Richards' hand — a chilling moment that hinted at deeper issues behind the scenes.
The threatening remark toward Richards came after she was confronted by her former co-stars Kyle Richards and Teddi Mellencamp about not trusting her kids around them.
After the moment aired, Richards, Mellencamp, and Erika Jayne took to Twitter to react to Aaron's shocking words.
'Wait! What did he just say??,' tweeted Jayne to her 474,300 followers, which Richards and Mellencamp also shared on their accounts.
To give even more specificity to her tweet, Jayne reposted a captioned clip of Phypers saying he was 'gonna crush [Denise's] f**king hand.'
During Richards' BBQ, Richards felt she was being attacked for not bringing her children, Sami, Lola and Eloise, to the event.
But she had earlier told her castmates she did not like the way they discussed salacious stories near her girls, and it upset her that they cited her history of sexy film roles as a reason she shouldn't mind.
During the barbecue, Phypers tried to defend Denise to the women, but every word he said came off as tone-deaf and inflamed matters further.
Denise decided to leave the lunch, clenching Aaron's hand and repeatedly telling him, 'Baby don't say a word—we're on the camera. Don't say a f***ing word.'
'Don't tell me what to f***ing say,' Phypers muttered back at her through clenched teeth, as several of her castmates chased after them.
'I don't want you to leave my home like that,' yelled Richards as Aaron replied, 'Well, s*** happens.'
Months after the episode aired, Richards addressed the concern over the tense exchange during The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with Andy Cohen.
The pair discussed the moment after Cohen told her he received 'a lot of questions about' about it.
'Denise, what was going on there? I believe he said he was going to crush your hand,' the host asked.
Richards confirmed: 'Yeah, he was going to crush my hand.'
'I did, um, because I didn't even know that either and I played it for him and he said, "I don't even remember saying that. I don't know why I would say that, because I'm afraid of you."'
Andy then questioned why Phypers would be 'afraid' of her.
'No, it's in a joking way,' she said while breaking a smile.
Despite her attempt to put an end to the backlash over Phypers' comment, her co-stars voiced their disapproval.
'Zero tolerance,' Sutton Stracke said. 'Zero. Unacceptable.'
Garcelle Beauvais stated: 'I didn't hear it on the show, but I saw it on social media and that's when I was like, "Oh my God!' And I was, you know, I was worried."'
Phypers filed for divorce on Monday in Los Angeles, according to court documents, obtained by DailyMail.com.
He noted that the date of separation from the 54-year-old actress was July 4.
The cause for the split was marked 'irreconcilable differences' and Aaron is seeking spousal support from Denise.
Although the two do not share any children, he was a stepfather to her daughters Sami, 21, Lola, 19, and Eloise, 13.
The two also suffered relationship drama in 2020 when Denise was romantically linked to Brandi Glanville, a fellow cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Glanville claimed the affair took place, even alleging that Phypers was aware and accepting of the situation, but Richards consistently refuted these claims.
A year later, Richards' daughter Sami, who was still a minor at the time, claimed she moved in with her dad Charlie Sheen to escape an 'abusive household.'
At the time, she described living with Richards and Phypers' home as a 'hell house.'
The last time Phypers appeared on his now-estranged wife's Instagram was back in April.
A month later, they made their final red carpet appearance.
The two wed in September 2018 in Malibu.
The wedding ceremony was filmed for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Guests at the wedding included Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell as well as fellow Housewives stars Lisa Vanderpump and Camille Grammer.
She wore a strapless Mark Zunino wedding dress embroidered with flowers as she held a bouquet with white and pink peonies. The bride walked down the aisle to Metallica's Unforgiven. Phypers dressed in dark jeans and a white button-down shirt.
Phypers and the actress started dating in 2017, and got engaged in January 2018.
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