Denise Richards appeared in court on October 6 to testify in her ongoing legal battle involving a temporary restraining order against estranged husband Aaron Phypers.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum broke down in tears while on the stand, making several allegations of physical abuse and claiming she feared for her life throughout their relationship.
Phypers filed for divorce in July after nearly seven years of marriage.
The exes attended a hearing related to the temporary restraining order Richards was granted in July. The court also followed up on Phypers’ surrendering of his firearms. While giving testimony, the 54-year-old actress got emotional thinking back on the alleged abuse.
She claimed Phypers “would often threaten to throw me through the windows and off balconies” of hotels.
“He’s almost killed me so many damn times,” she tearfully stated.
Richards explained what led to their split on July 4, when she asked Phypers, 53, to leave their shared townhouses.
“He got very angry at me and volatile, he got very close to me. I had just recovered from a full facelift and I still had stitches behind my ears, and I felt extremely vulnerable.”
She alleged their arguments would turn physical.
“He would get as close as a couple of inches from my face.”
“He would grab my arms and he would yell, call me names,”
such as “cheating whore and a c— and a lying bitch,” she stated.
Richards said she was feeling “extremely vulnerable and in pain.” She suggested Phypers stay at their old house, where his family was living. That night, she ended up leaving their shared townhome and sleeping on her office sofa next door.
“I’m a lot smaller than him,”
she noted when describing feeling intimidated.
Multiple Alleged Incidents
The next day, on July 5, Phypers and his father came into the room where she was sleeping. Richards claimed they threatened to release naked photos found on her phone in April. She also alleged Phypers hit the back of her left ear before leaving.
“I was wearing a baseball cap. My head moved, he flipped the hat off very aggressively. I still had stitches on one side of the ear… which caused some bleeding and so much pain because I had incisions on both sides.”
She claimed she told Phypers he “hurt” her, but he allegedly denied it.
Richards said she called Phypers’ mom and began to dial 911. But Phypers allegedly threatened her by saying,
“Something very dangerous is going to happen to you. You’re going to disappear.”
In September, after Richards got a temporary restraining order, they had another incident at her townhouse when he returned for his laptop. She accused him of asking for her phone, which she hid in her shorts.
He “grabbed me by both arms and then pushed me down on the stairs,” she alleged. Richards claimed Phypers left with his laptop, along with her purse and credit cards.
Earlier Hotel Incidents
Other incidents allegedly occurred months prior. In April, the pair were at a hotel in Chicago for ComicCon. Richards stated that Phypers brought up her previous texts with another man and started “grabbing me, pushing me down.”
She claimed “his fingers were around my face” and she told him he was going to “give me a bruise.”
“Please stop, you’re hurting me,”
she allegedly said.
The following month, Richards was staying at a Los Angeles hotel after seven-hour surgery on her breasts and stomach. She claimed she gave Phypers her laptop password to watch TV but was quickly woken up by him “being very hostile and aggressive” about her messages with another man.
“He sat me down on the toilet and I was shaking, holding my phone on my lap. He said, ‘Give me your f—— phone.'”
He then allegedly “hit me with his right hand” and the drain for her surgery recovery was damaged. Crying, Richards said she asked why Phypers hit her and he allegedly replied, “I didn’t hit you, I need your f—— phone.”
Court Documents Detail Allegations
In a July court filing obtained by PEOPLE, Richards alleged that Phypers would “frequently violently choke me,” “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.”
She also alleged he “regularly threatened to ‘break my jaw’ and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help – none of which ever happened.”
Richards was granted a temporary restraining order on July 16. This came 11 days after Phypers filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences.”
Phypers Disputes Claims
Phypers refuted Richards’ claims in a September 15 filing. He alleged she “attacked” and “harassed” him “many times.” He provided screenshots of his call history showing dozens of missed calls from her after the temporary restraining order was approved.
“I have not abused her and will not abuse her,”
he stated in the filing. He said Richards has been “frequently” calling and messaging him and his father.
“As well as asking other family and friends to ask me to call her so often that it should be considered harassment, demonstrating that she is not afraid of me and that she is the aggressive one.”
The couple last appeared in court on September 8. Phypers was ordered to stay 100 yards away from one of their homes under the temporary restraining order. Richards was given access to one of their shared properties so she could “retrieve her mother’s and her own personal property, including the dogs.”
Phypers was granted access to their townhouse and office to retrieve his belongings. He was also ordered to return her laptop and old cell phone, which he has denied possessing.
Phypers has repeatedly denied Richards’ abuse claims. In a statement hours after she was granted the temporary restraining order, he told PEOPLE:
“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. I have always tried to approach our marriage with love, patience, and respect.”
He later claimed she cheated on him earlier this year. He told TMZ he found text messages on her phone that alerted him to the alleged infidelity.
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.
