Denise Richards has revealed she became a “shell” of herself following her divorce from fellow actor Charlie Sheen.
In a recent episode of her latest reality series, Denise Richards & Her Wild Things, the star met up with Sheen, whom she was married to from 2002 until 2006.
Joined in the episode by their 19-year-old daughter Lola, Richards, 54, admitted the divorce was one of the most challenging periods of her life.
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“Charlie and I were married for four-and-a-half years before I filed,” she explained.
“He had been sober for about four years and very committed to his sobriety, and I never thought someone that committed could fall off and fall back into that because I, at the time, hadn’t really been around it.
“Right after I got pregnant with Lola, it started to turn fast.”
Sheen and Richards share two children – daughters Sami and Lola.
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“One day, he went to work – there was an awful evening the night before – and I packed my s—, packed Sami’s stuff, called my housekeeper to come, and we went to the Beverly Hills Hotel, and I filed for divorce in between dropping them off at the hotel and a table reading.”
While the trio was enjoying some time together, Richards reminisced about some of the “disgusting” things Sheen said about her in the press at the time.
“I always had your back, at the end of the day,” she said to Sheen, who has been sober since 2017.
“I appreciate that,” he replied, “if you didn’t, then we wouldn’t be able to have moments like this.”
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The show then cuts to Richards’ confessional, during which she reveals, “I never had to say anything bad about Charlie – he spiralled.”
The Wild Things actress then opened up about taking temporary custody of the twin boys Charlie and his ex-wife Brooke Mueller shared in 2013.
“I didn’t publicly say I did,” she confessed.
Notably, Richards did not discuss that she had custody of the twins, as both Mueller and Sheen were struggling with substance abuse.
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“I was in the tabloids all the time, and it got to a point where I had to literally put myself, basically, in a bubble. I told my publicist, ‘Don’t send me any article’ because it was getting to me.
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“I was getting to the place of being rock bottom. I became a shell of myself.”
Richards also shared how remaining amicable with Sheen for the sake of their children was her top priority.
“I would tell Charlie, ‘I don’t care if you hate me,'” she remembered.
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“‘You can think what you want to think about me. When we are at a birthday party, or a horse show, or a school function, can we please just fake it and be so kind and loving to each other in a respectful way so that the kids feel loved?'”
“At the end of the day, what really matters? It’s my daughters and my family, and that’s all I care about,” she added.
If you or someone you know would like to talk to someone confidentially about addiction, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit ReachOut. In an emergency, call 000.
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