Denise Richards’s divorce saga has taken yet another turn as her ex Aaron Phypers has accused her of cheating.
Phypers filed for divorce July 7 in Los Angeles after six years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.” He listed their date of separation as July 4, the same day the two reportedly got into a heated argument.
Speaking to TMZ, Phypers claimed the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star cheated on him and that he found proof of the alleged affair, which led to the July 4 fight and subsequent divorce filing.
Phypers alleged that Richards, knowing he had screenshots with proof of the alleged affair, took his phone and hid it for more than a day before hitting and scratching him when he asked for it back. Phypers later found the phone smashed in the recycling bin, he told the outlet.
He claimed to have found messages between Richards and another man on her laptop earlier this year. He told TMZ the messages between Richards and the other man contained selfies, as well as instances where she wished him “sweet dreams.” Phypers also alleged that there were messages between the two planning a tryst at a hotel, where Richards was going to sneak her alleged lover into the room.
When he confronted Richards about the messages he discovered, the two ultimately decided to stay together, Phypers told the outlet.
The new accusations from Phypers come just days after Richards was granted a temporary restraining order against him after alleging she was the victim of abuse. Phypers has denied all accusations against him.
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 Phypers “repeatedly abused” her throughout their marriage and “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 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.