All About Denise Richards’ Estranged Husband Aaron Phypers

Denise Richards‘ estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, filed for divorce on July 7.

Phypers, who married The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum in 2018, listed their date of separation as July 4, and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their separation.

At the time of the divorce filing, neither Richards nor Phypers revealed what caused their separation or when they began having marital woes.

The former couple met at his work practice, a healing center in Malibu, when she was seeking “preventative DNA repair.” She told the Daily Dish in 2019 that Phypers “works with a lot of different people with a lot of different things. We would start talking about different things because we knew a lot of the same people and same interests.”

Though the couple celebrated several milestones in their relationship, like their wedding in 2018, they also weathered a few storms, including claims that they had an open marriage. Richards denied the rumors, stating she and Phypers were fully committed to each other and their family.

From their brief engagement to their breakup, here’s everything to know about Denise Richards’ estranged husband, Aaron Phypers.

He was previously married to Nicollette Sheridan

Phypers was first romantically linked to Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan in December 2014. The two kept their relationship, including their engagement and marriage, largely under wraps.

In 2016, Sheridan filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. They had been married for six months.

Their divorce wasn’t finalized until two years later in 2018. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, neither Sheridan nor Phypers was granted spousal support, and a property division settlement agreement had been established. The former couple didn’t have any children together.

He began dating Richards in June 2017

At the time of their engagement in September 2018, Richards and Phypers remained tight-lipped about the early stages of their blooming love. Phypers — whose divorce from Sheridan was finalized that August — proposed to the Wild Things actress just 15 months after they began dating in 2017. Richards was previously married to Charlie Sheen from 2002 to 2006; they share daughters Sam and Lola Rose.

“Aaron and Denise just got engaged and would love to be married sooner than later now that his divorce is finally in his past,” a source told PEOPLE at the time. “The engagement has been a long time coming. He moved on from his past relationship a long time ago, and marrying Denise is a welcome new chapter for both of them in different but equally significant ways.”

The insider added, “The two of them are very happy and have settled into life with one another, so now they’re pretty focused on getting this very intimate ceremony off the ground. They’re just ready to start their married life together.”

He married Richards 48 hours after proposing

With the help of event planner Mindy Weiss, the lovebirds tied the knot on Sept. 8, 2018 — just two days after exclusively announcing their engagement with PEOPLE. Only a very small group of friends and family were invited to the private Malibu wedding.

“[Aaron] really wanted to marry on September 8 because eight means infinity. We called [wedding planner] Mindy Weiss and she did it less than 48 hours and it was beautiful,” Richards previously told PEOPLE.

For her part, Richards opted to wear a romper with a detachable tulle skirt over a traditional wedding gown. “I wore a traditional dress for my first wedding, so I wanted something different this time,” she said. The soap star added she liked the idea of a romper because she would leave the reception on the back of Phypers’ motorcycle.

Designer Mark Zunino created the entire ensemble on a 24-hour deadline and it was “perfect,” per the bride. “I didn’t take the tulle skirt off until I got on his bike. I loved the skirt so much I wore it the entire evening.”

She said he had started the process of adopting her youngest daughter

In 2019, Richards revealed that Phypers had started the process of adopting her youngest daughter, Eloise Joni, whom she adopted in 2011. “He’s amazing as a daddy,” Richards gushed during an appearance on The Talk. “He’s amazing with my daughters, and he’s adopting my youngest, so it’s really great.”

Ahead of Father’s Day 2020, Phypers received “the greatest gift” from Richards’ youngest daughter. In a heartfelt tribute to Phypers on Instagram, Richards shared that Eloise, who has special needs, said the word “dad” for the very first time the month prior.

It’s unclear if Phypers officially adopted Eloise’s daughter before he filed for divorce but his filing stated that the couple shared no minor children.

He helped produce content for Richards’ OnlyFans page

Noting that similar photos of her already exist on the internet, Richards said she sometimes has “to do something else once in a while,” which is where Phypers steps in. “Aaron takes a lot of my content for me. He knows what guys like. I ask him, I show him things and say, ‘What do you think?’ ” Richards said.

He’s an actor turned businessman

While also an actor, Phypers is more commonly recognized for his holistic healing center in Malibu. Revelations about the company caused quite an uproar on season 10 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The Malibu center’s treatment services are best described as “frequency medicine.” Phypers explained, “I break down stuff so you can all heal you — I don’t heal anybody, by the way. I remove blocks, discord, information.”

During a confessional, Richards further claimed, “Aaron has a job where people get tremendous results and sometimes certain organizations don’t like to see those results because they make a lot of money otherwise.”

A lawsuit was filed against Phypers in November 2024 involving his clinic, Quantum 360. Rupert Perry is suing Phypers after his late wife, Elina Katsioula-Beall, who had been diagnosed with Sarcoma, allegedly received a “stem cell treatment” at his clinic that Phypers said “would cure or at least ameliorate Ms. Katsioula-Beall’s condition.”

“[Phypers] claimed that the treatment had a 98% success rate and he was so confident in it that, if it did not work, he would refund to Ms. Katsioula-Beall and Mr. Perry fifty percent (50%) of the money they to him for the treatment,” the lawsuit said.

However, the treatment that Katsioula-Beall paid $126,000 for allegedly didn’t work, and the lawsuit claimed that her tumors later expanded by 25%. When the couple asked Phypers for $63,000 back, the claim stated that he “acknowledged the debt but proffered a series of excuses for his failure to pay the $63,000.”

He has yet to respond to the lawsuit in court, and in his divorce filing claimed, “I had to close down my business last year and have made [no] income since.”

He stepped in to film Richards’ B&B love scenes during the pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richards and her The Bold and the Beautiful costars were asked by production to tap their “husbands and significant others” to fill in for any human contact and “love scenes.” During a virtual appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2020, Richards admitted it was “really fun” to film the more romantic scenes with her partner “because you’re not pretending.”

“I’m really grateful that Aaron is able to come, and it’s been fun for all of us to see everyone’s husbands and wives on set,” she told host Kelly Clarkson.

He appeared on reality TV with Richards

In August 2024, the actress confirmed that Phypers would also appear on her E! series Denise Richards and the Wild Things, which premiered in March 2025.

During the show’s first episode, Richards asserted that she was “never getting divorced again” after more than six years of marriage to Phypers.

“Even if we hate each other, I’m not gonna f—— get divorced,” she said during a confessional, while Phypers added, “No, we’ll just have different homes or something. But we’re not gonna hate each other.”

He filed for divorce in July 2025

After six years of marriage, Phypers filed for divorce on July 7, 2025. He listed the date of separation as July 4, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Phypers requested spousal support from Richards and also asked to keep certain assets and debts as separate property, including his power tools, motorcycle and sports car. The former couple share no minor children.