This Was The Final Straw For Denise Richards And Charlie Sheen

Some Hollywood couples last forever, and others break down right before our very eyes on the cover of tabloid headlines. Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen's 2006 divorce was the latter, as they went from a happily-married couple gazing into each others' eyes on red carpets to calling each other names and suing one another for custody of their kids. What went wrong and what was the final straw between Richards and Sheen? 

Now that Richards is on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, people are getting a closer glimpse at her personal life and what her relationship to Sheen is like these days. During her first season on the show in 2019, things seemed easy breezy between the two of them as they co-parented teenage daughters Sam and Lola. (Denise also adopted a daughter named Eloise in 2011.) Sure, Richards told stories on RHOBH about her ex bringing prostitutes to dinner and all that, but everyone already knew all of that right? 

Sheen also didn't attend Richards' 2018 wedding to now husband Aaron Phypers, but on RHOBH Season 10, Denise mentioned that Sheen was supposedly happy to let her new hubby teach her eldest daughter to drive. That's pretty big considering some parents might be a little possessive of being such an integral part of a teenager's life. That all seems well and good, but that doesn't mean things are perfect right now either.

It's not easy to pin down exactly what went down between Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, who were married from 2002 to 2006, or if there was even one defining moment that broke them entirely. Following their decade long legal battle is not for the faint of heart. The Blast reported in 2019 that the exes were still at it as Richards sued Sheen for back child support. 

In court documents, Richards claimed Sheen "squandered over $24,000,000 from the sale in his interest in Two and a Half Men to pay his personal debts and to support his extravagant lifestyle at the expense of support payments for his children." Richards also alleged: "During the time frame since our last stipulation/order in 2016 he has failed to pay $450,000 in support while diverting over $600,000 in assets to adult family members and converting thousands of dollars into cash for his own personal use." She reportedly did not name the aforementioned family members. For the record, Sheen also has two sons he has to support with another ex, Brooke Mueller, whom he was married to from 2008 to 2011. 

How did this Hollywood love story turn so sour in the first place? It apparently wasn't pretty, and the end played out while Richards was pregnant. 

Denise Richards filed for divorce from Charlie Sheen in 2005. During an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she alleged that Sheen was in the midst of a substance abuse relapse at the time. "When I got pregnant with Lola, things started to change rapidly. It was a very dark time and very toxic. And I filed for divorce when I was six months pregnant with her. I always did whatever I could to hide Charlie's behavior," she said on the show. 

The couple reconciled for a bit, but Richards filed for divorce again in 2006, and this time, she saw it through. Following the divorce, things were seemingly fine between the exes for a couple of years. According to Us Weekly, Richards even guest-starred on Sheen's show, Anger Management, and they were spotted out together with their kids. It was during this time that Sheen met and married actress Brooke Mueller, whom he was married to from 2006 until 2011. 

But things took a turn around 2011, and the whole ugly episode played out in a very public way.

In 2011, Charlie Sheen was diagnosed with HIV and then subsequently had a very public breakdown that he now says was due to using too much "testosterone cream," per The Wrap. He infamously spoke about having "tiger blood" and insisted he was "winning," despite having been fired from Two and a Half Men earlier that year, reported Reuters. 

Richards seemingly stood up for her ex. Afterwards, Denise Richards stood up for her ex, via Us Weekly, saying, "He's doing well," she said (via Us Weekly). "He's focused on his show [Anger Management] and the kids and he is who he is, he makes no bones about it, and I also think that's why a lot of people like him and are attracted to him."

But those good vibes didn't last. In 2015, on Father's Day, Sheen reportedly tweeted that Richards was the "worst mom alive" and an "evil terrorist sack of landfill rash." According to the Daily News, he praised his then-wife, Brooke Mueller (pictured), via another tweet that said: "Brooke M is a sexy star whom I adore; D Richards a heretic washed-up piglet Shame pile."

So, yah, that might have been the final straw between Richards and Sheen, but alas, the drama didn't stop there. 

Denise Richards seemingly took the high road during Charlie Sheens' aforementioned rants and raves about her on social media, but in 2016, she hit back, suing her ex for allegedly trying to evict her and their kids from a home he had bought (and supposedly promised they could live) and for supposedly saying obscene things to one of their daughters. According to TMZ, Richards claimed "she overheard a conversation with [then] 10-year-old Lola in which he called her 'a f***ing pig whore' and yelled, 'I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill your mom.'" At one point, Sheen allegedly threatened to give the kids Christmas gifts to the homeless. 

According to TMZ, Richards wanted Sheen to pay $1.2 million for a home for them to live in, in accordance with their divorce agreement. Sheen claimed Richards was just out for money. Richards' attorney said the actress was trying to "protect her children from the fallout of Mr. Sheen's erratic lifestyle and its enormously negative impact on their children."

Since then, Charlie and Denise have been back and forth in court over financial issues involving their children, though it does seem like the animosity has lessened a bit in recent years. Then again, once Sheen gets wind of Richards' drama on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, that could all change. You just never know with these two.