Denise Richards got candid about her divorce from Charlie Sheen and where the former couple stand today, as they co-parent two daughters: Sami, 18, and Lola, 17. During a recent chat with Real Housewives of Dubai star, Caroline Stanbury, on her podcast Divorced, Not Dead, the Wild Things actress, 51, opened up about end of her three-year marriage to the Two and a Half Men alum, 56, calling it “traumatic.”
“I don’t regret my marriage to Charlie, obviously at all, because I really do believe that he and I were brought together to have our daughters,” Denise began. “I filed for divorce when I was six months pregnant, which was very difficult and I didn’t realize the impact of how public it would be and how it would affect my career personally, because I thought, ‘This is my
personal life, why is this affecting my professional life?’ I think I was on the tabloid covers for about two years straight during that time. And it was incredibly difficult.”
The former RHOBH star went on to say that she was also dealing with her mother who was sick at the time of the divorce in 2005, but it was her concern for Sami and Lola that troubled her the most. “I had these two babies and it was really so hard for me and I just really had to go put myself in a bubble and protect them at the end of the day. Who’s really there? It’s my family and my kids. And I think that’s what got me through the initial part of the divorce.” She added, “It was very traumatic for me. It was really difficult.”
After Lola was born, Denise revealed she and Charlie reconciled for a brief time. “I’m glad we did because it made me also know I could one day tell my girls that I did everything I could possibly do to make this family unit,” Denise explained. “And that’s what I felt the most guilty of: was splitting up the family unit. I struggled with that for years. It was not easy, but at least I knew that I did everything that I could to make that work as much as possible.”
While the post-split period between the exes was quite “dark” for a time, Denise said her relationship with Charlie has “evolved” over the years. “To this day, Charlie does know he could call me at any time, no matter what — I don’t care what he says — I will show up and be there because I always also wanted him, and still do, to be the best dad he can be for our daughters. And that is one thing that he does know — no matter what he could say about me — he knows deep down that I will always, always be there.” She added, “He knows I will not extort him and that I’m a standup person and want him to be the best version of himself and be there for our children.”