Denise Richards' Estranged Husband Claims She Had Months-Long Affair With Special Forces Star
Denise Richards' estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, is breaking his silence. In an interview with DailyMail.com, Phypers alleged that the Wild Things star carried on a months-long affair with a former Special Forces soldier during her time on the reality competition show -- all this while he claims she was also secretly battling substance abuse issues. Phypers dropped the explosive claims about his nine-year relationship with Richards, which he says began unraveling earlier this year when he discovered "107 raunchy texts" between the 54-year-old actress and the 53-year-old former Marine and reality star, Rudy Reyes. "I just had this feeling that something was off because her behavior had changed -- she was being kind of cool to me," he said. "I opened her phone -- we both know each other's passwords -- so I opened it up and then I went to her deleted texts and there were 107 of them between her and this guy. I went through them and it just broke my heart." According to Phypers, Reyes, who stars on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, sent explicit messages, shirtless snaps, and even a "graphic" video of himself naked and pleasuring himself. One message from Richards allegedly read: "I felt a connection as a human being when I met you and you put that potato sack over my head." Fans will recall that Richards was on the show's latest season, where Reyes served as one of the Marine mentors in charge of leading the celebrity cast through tough-as-nails challenges, testing both their physical and mental strength. Things came to a head, according to Phypers, over the July 4th weekend when he says he confronted Richards about an alleged second secret meet-up with Reyes at a local hotel. She even smashed up his phone, Phypers claimed in the interview, because he had purportedly taken pictures and video of her alleged conversations with Reyes. "I run up to her and I go, 'What the f--k did you do this for?' And she goes, 'I did not do anything to your phone,'" he told DailyMail.com. "Just denied it. And then I'm like, 'So it was Casper the Ghost?' And she still denied it, so I ran out. I was in disbelief, and I took off." Phypers says he later found the phone "smashed to powder" in the trash, buried beneath garbage and crawling with maggots. "I'm brokenhearted and f--king tired," he confessed. "Really, she's f'd me up. We've been together nine years and for her to do that and to lie to me consistently -- I'm totally tired and drained.” Phypers filed for divorce the following Monday at 12:01 a.m., but days later, Richards fired back with her own accusations, filing for a temporary restraining order and alleging that Phypers had physically abused her and gave her a black eye. Phypers denies all allegations of abuse, telling TMZ: "Let me be unequivocally clear: I have never physically or emotionally abused Denise -- or anyone. These accusations are completely false and deeply hurtful. Denise and I, like many couples, have faced our share of challenges, but any suggestion of abuse is categorically untrue." The statement continued, "I have always tried to approach our marriage with love, patience, and respect. I ask for privacy as we navigate personal matters, and I hope that the public and media will refrain from spreading harmful and baseless claims." He claims the injury in question was from a fall during a night of heavy drinking, alleging Richards has long struggled with a Vicodin addiction. "She's got a real problem," he said. "She mixes it, too, with booze and she stays up all night. She's there on her computer and taking stuff, then she hides the bottles. It's gotten out of hand, and I'm really concerned." He alleges Richards takes up to 25 Vicodin pills per day, washing them down with tequila. "She buys them in bottles of 500 pills," he said. "I don't know where she gets them from, but she always has them." Phypers also claims that their homelife had gotten out of control, telling the outlet that Richards allowed 15 rescue dogs to defecate freely inside the home, with "petrified dog c--p" even found under one of her daughter's beds. "The maids just sweep it under the bed. It's a beautiful home but no one picks up the mess," he added. Other claims from Phypers include: a "semi-nomadic" lifestyle, with Phypers saying the couple have moved homes six times in nine years, as well as more claims about Richards' pets, with Phypers telling the outlet that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum allegedly owned 58 dogs, two pigs, and a Sphinx cat who he says peed everywhere. He also claims to have managed her OnlyFans content and reality ventures, adding, "I do 80% of the work ... I edit the pictures and build all the sets myself, as well as managing all her properties." Phypers says he eventually sent a heartfelt letter to friends and family, detailing his pain
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The allegations come after the reality star made her own against husband Aaron Phypers, accusing him of physical and verbal abuse.
Denise Richards' estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, is breaking his silence.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Phypers alleged that the Wild Things star carried on a months-long affair with a former Special Forces soldier during her time on the reality competition show -- all this while he claims she was also secretly battling substance abuse issues.
Phypers dropped the explosive claims about his nine-year relationship with Richards, which he says began unraveling earlier this year when he discovered "107 raunchy texts" between the 54-year-old actress and the 53-year-old former Marine and reality star, Rudy Reyes.
"I just had this feeling that something was off because her behavior had changed -- she was being kind of cool to me," he said. "I opened her phone -- we both know each other's passwords -- so I opened it up and then I went to her deleted texts and there were 107 of them between her and this guy. I went through them and it just broke my heart."
According to Phypers, Reyes, who stars on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, sent explicit messages, shirtless snaps, and even a "graphic" video of himself naked and pleasuring himself. One message from Richards allegedly read: "I felt a connection as a human being when I met you and you put that potato sack over my head."
Fans will recall that Richards was on the show's latest season, where Reyes served as one of the Marine mentors in charge of leading the celebrity cast through tough-as-nails challenges, testing both their physical and mental strength.
Things came to a head, according to Phypers, over the July 4th weekend when he says he confronted Richards about an alleged second secret meet-up with Reyes at a local hotel.
She even smashed up his phone, Phypers claimed in the interview, because he had purportedly taken pictures and video of her alleged conversations with Reyes.
"I run up to her and I go, 'What the f--k did you do this for?' And she goes, 'I did not do anything to your phone,'" he told DailyMail.com. "Just denied it. And then I'm like, 'So it was Casper the Ghost?' And she still denied it, so I ran out. I was in disbelief, and I took off."
Phypers says he later found the phone "smashed to powder" in the trash, buried beneath garbage and crawling with maggots.
"I'm brokenhearted and f--king tired," he confessed. "Really, she's f'd me up. We've been together nine years and for her to do that and to lie to me consistently -- I'm totally tired and drained.”
Phypers filed for divorce the following Monday at 12:01 a.m., but days later, Richards fired back with her own accusations, filing for a temporary restraining order and alleging that Phypers had physically abused her and gave her a black eye.
Phypers denies all allegations of abuse, telling TMZ: "Let me be unequivocally clear: I have never physically or emotionally abused Denise -- or anyone. These accusations are completely false and deeply hurtful. Denise and I, like many couples, have faced our share of challenges, but any suggestion of abuse is categorically untrue."
The statement continued, "I have always tried to approach our marriage with love, patience, and respect. I ask for privacy as we navigate personal matters, and I hope that the public and media will refrain from spreading harmful and baseless claims."
He claims the injury in question was from a fall during a night of heavy drinking, alleging Richards has long struggled with a Vicodin addiction.
"She's got a real problem," he said. "She mixes it, too, with booze and she stays up all night. She's there on her computer and taking stuff, then she hides the bottles. It's gotten out of hand, and I'm really concerned."
He alleges Richards takes up to 25 Vicodin pills per day, washing them down with tequila. "She buys them in bottles of 500 pills," he said. "I don't know where she gets them from, but she always has them."
Phypers also claims that their homelife had gotten out of control, telling the outlet that Richards allowed 15 rescue dogs to defecate freely inside the home, with "petrified dog c--p" even found under one of her daughter's beds.
"The maids just sweep it under the bed. It's a beautiful home but no one picks up the mess," he added. Other claims from Phypers include: a "semi-nomadic" lifestyle, with Phypers saying the couple have moved homes six times in nine years, as well as more claims about Richards' pets, with Phypers telling the outlet that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum allegedly owned 58 dogs, two pigs, and a Sphinx cat who he says peed everywhere.
He also claims to have managed her OnlyFans content and reality ventures, adding, "I do 80% of the work ... I edit the pictures and build all the sets myself, as well as managing all her properties."
Phypers says he eventually sent a heartfelt letter to friends and family, detailing his pain and pleading for support.
"This isn't just a relationship breaking down. It's a cry for help," he wrote. "Denise needs intervention." He also alleged stalking, claiming an AirTag was placed on his car and that he's been denied access to personal belongings.
"She's trying to destroy me," he told the outlet. "But I just can't be treated this way anymore."
Richards has yet to publicly respond to the specific claims, but her lawyer Brett Berman issued a strong statement to PEOPLE that reads: "In addition to the repeated abuse perpetrated by Mr. Phypers against Ms. Richards throughout the parties' marriage, Mr. Phypers has continued to harass Ms. Richards since being served with the Temporary Restraining Order by, among other things, disseminating private information from Ms. Richards' cell phone and laptop, which he stole."
"These actions continue to disturb Ms. Richards' peace... Ms. Richards will not be responding to Mr. Phypers' false allegations in a public forum and will be addressing Mr. Phypers' abuse in Court."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
