Was Denise Richards Nearly Killed? The Actress' Emotional Testimony Against Ex Aaron Phypers

Actress Denise Richards has broken her silence on her troubled marriage to Aaron Phypers, giving emotional testimony during a court hearing on Monday, October 6, related to a restraining order she filed earlier this year.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 54, appeared visibly shaken as she described a series of alleged violent and threatening incidents that she says left her fearing for her life.

Richards testified that Phypers, 53, 'would often threaten to throw me through the windows and off balconies' during their heated arguments. Fighting back tears, she told the court: 'He's almost killed me so many damn times.'

The hearing, held in Los Angeles, was convened to review Richards' temporary restraining order, issued in July, and to ensure Phypers had surrendered his firearms as required under the order.

The Day It All Ended

Richards said the relationship reached its limit on July 4, when an argument escalated and she told Phypers to leave their shared home.

'He got very angry at me and volatile,' she said. '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.'

Richards went on to describe how their arguments frequently turned 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,' she testified, listing the words she claimed he used — 'cheating whore,' 'c---,' and 'lying bitch.'

The next morning, on July 5, Phypers allegedly entered her bedroom with his father and threatened to leak intimate photos found on her phone. She claimed the confrontation turned violent when he struck the side of her head.

'I was wearing a baseball cap. My head moved, and he flipped the hat off very aggressively,' Richards testified. 'I still had stitches behind my ears from surgery, and it caused bleeding and so much pain.'

She said she told Phypers he had hurt her, but he denied touching her, allegedly saying: 'I didn't touch you,' before walking out with his father.

According to Richards, when she threatened to call the police, Phypers warned her: 'Something very dangerous is going to happen to you. You're going to disappear.'

Alleged Violence Before and After the Split

Richards also recounted a September incident in which Phypers returned to her townhouse to collect a laptop despite the restraining order already being in effect. She alleged that he confronted her, demanded her phone, and physically restrained her when she refused.

'He grabbed me by both arms and pushed me down the stairs,' she claimed, adding that he left with his computer as well as her purse and credit cards.

Richards said the violence was not new. She described several earlier episodes dating back to April, including one during a trip to Chicago for a fan convention. She alleged that Phypers accused her of messaging another man, then became physical.

'He started grabbing me, pushing me down,' she said. 'His fingers were around my face. I told him he was going to give me a bruise. I said, "Please stop, you're hurting me."'

Another alleged altercation took place the following month in Los Angeles after Richards had undergone a seven-hour surgery. She said Phypers became enraged when he accessed her laptop and discovered messages from a male acquaintance.

'He sat me down on the toilet while I was shaking, holding my phone,' she recalled. 'He said, "Give me your f------ phone." Then he hit me with his right hand. The surgical drain was damaged, and I started bleeding.'

Earlier Court Filings Detail Pattern of Abuse

In documents submitted in July, Richards alleged that Phypers, whom she married in 2018, would 'frequently violently choke me,' 'slam my head into the towel rack,' and 'hold me down with his knee on my back to the point where I would plead with him to get off me so that he would not kill me.'

She also claimed he repeatedly threatened to 'break my jaw' before breaking down in tears and promising to change.

Richards was granted a temporary restraining order on July 16, less than two weeks after Phypers filed for divorce, citing 'irreconcilable differences.'

Phypers' Response

Phypers, 53, has denied all allegations of abuse. In a filing submitted on September 15, he alleged that Richards had 'attacked' and 'harassed' him on numerous occasions.

'I have not abused her and will not abuse her,' he said in the statement. Phypers claimed that Richards had continued to call and message him even after the restraining order was approved, saying her repeated attempts to contact him demonstrated that she was 'not afraid' of him and was 'the aggressive one.'

The court will decide later this month whether to extend or make permanent the restraining order against Phypers. Legal experts say the judge may consider the testimony, corroborating witnesses, and physical evidence presented by Richards.

Neither Richards nor Phypers have spoken publicly since the hearing. However, friends of the actress have praised her courage for sharing her story so openly.