Denise Richards is facing allegations of a months-long affair with former special forces soldier Rudy Reyes, who reportedly sent her explicit photos and videos, including one in which he appears nude and engaging in a sexual act.
In an exclusive interview, Richards’ husband Aaron Phypers opened up about the breakdown of their marriage, claiming he learned of the alleged affair in April. Although Richards allegedly assured him it was over, Phypers said he caught her in another rendezvous the following month at a Hilton Garden Inn in Burbank, California.
According to Phypers, the situation escalated over the July 4 holiday weekend when a confrontation over the affair ended with Richards allegedly smashing his phone. He filed for divorce shortly after, but was then accused by Richards of domestic abuse in court filings, including claims that he gave her a black eye—an allegation he vehemently denies.
Now, Phypers, 49, is speaking out, painting a picture of a deeply troubled marriage. He alleges:
- Their relationship officially unraveled after the July 4 confrontation over Richards’ alleged six-month affair.
- Richards destroyed his phone after realizing he had documented her explicit exchanges with Reyes.
- She has a heavy Vicodin habit, taking up to 25 pills daily, often washed down with tequila.
- Their home environment was chaotic, with up to 15 rescue dogs allegedly allowed to defecate indoors.
- He once found petrified dog feces under one of her daughters’ beds, and claims staff were told to sweep messes under furniture.
“I’m brokenhearted and completely exhausted,” Phypers said. “She’s messed me up emotionally. After nine years together, to be lied to like this—it’s draining.”
Phypers says the marriage had already been deteriorating earlier this year, in part due to Richards’ alleged substance use and erratic behavior.
“She stays up all night, popping pills and drinking,” he claimed. “She hides the bottles. It’s out of control.”
He alleged she purchases the pills in bulk—sometimes bottles of 500—and questioned where the money was coming from. “You’re talking about $10 to $50 a pill. That’s a lot of money.”
Their living situation also added strain. The couple moved six times in less than ten years, each move requiring Phypers to relocate a zoo-like collection of animals—at one point, he says, there were 58 dogs, two pigs, and an incontinent Sphinx cat named Tim.
“The animals ruined rental properties,” he said. “She wouldn’t clean up. It was disgusting.”
Phypers said the final straw came in April when he discovered 107 explicit text messages between Richards and Reyes, which included sexual conversations and nude photos from both sides. Some images allegedly showed Richards topless or in revealing swimsuits, while one exchange included a bizarre reference to Reyes putting a “potato sack” over her head.
Initially, Richards reportedly apologized and allowed Phypers to check her phone to regain trust. However, he later discovered she had a second number she used to continue her communication with Reyes.
“She kept planning secret meetups,” he said. “Meanwhile, she was picking fights with me to create distractions.”
One such argument was over Phypers’s elderly parents, who live in a home Richards owns and help care for her dogs. But the confrontation on July 4th, when he claimed he took screenshots of her messages, was the most explosive. Richards allegedly grabbed his phone and later he found it destroyed and thrown into a trash can full of maggots.
“She denied it even when I confronted her,” he said. “It was surreal.”
He filed for divorce on July 7 and is seeking $100,000 per month in spousal support, claiming he was heavily involved in Richards’ business ventures—including managing her OnlyFans account and editing her content.
“She made money, but I did the work,” he claimed.
Shortly after the divorce filing, Richards requested and was granted a temporary restraining order, accusing Phypers of abuse and harassment. Phypers has denied all allegations.
He says the restraining order now prevents him from seeing Richards’ adopted daughter Eloise, who he deeply cares for. He also claims Richards is withholding his power tools and kicked out a contractor he sent to retrieve them.
“She’s trying to destroy me,” he said. “But I can’t be treated like this anymore.”
Neither Richards nor Reyes have responded publicly to the allegations. However, Richards’ attorney, Brett Berman, issued a statement to Access Hollywood denying Phypers’ version of events and accusing him of stealing and distributing private data from Richards’ devices. The statement added that Richards would not be addressing the accusations in the media and would handle the matter through the legal system.
