Denise Richards Faces Devastating Personal Crises

A little over a year ago - Bond Girl, Playboy model, star, former Mrs - was asked what she'd tell her 20-year-old self.

'Buckle up,' she said. 'It's going to be a crazy ride, girl. But hang in there.'

She said it with her usual dazzling smile. But the reality is that, for all her beauty and fame, Richards, 55, has not had it easy.

Twice divorced, with both marriages ending brutally amid allegations of drug taking,  and infidelity, Richards has raised three daughters largely as a single mother, even taking care of Sheen's four-year-old twins Bob and Max in 2013, when their drug-addled father and mother, Brooke Mueller, were deemed unfit.

In 2011, a judge issued an order removing the twins, who were two at the time, from Sheen's home after Mueller raised allegations of violence. 

Richards' youngest, Eloise, now 15, was adopted in 2011 and suffers from a rare chromosomal disorder, which causes problems in walking and speech.

Hollywood has also proved to be an unforgiving place for a world-famous pin-up, who has found herself pursued relentlessly by the paparazzi, with her appearance picked over in excruciating detail.

In June 2025 she underwent a full facelift, admitting the procedure left her 'terrified'. Ten days after the surgery, while still in pain, her second husband filed for divorce. And this week it got worse, with the sudden death of her former boyfriend and close friend Patrick Muldoon.

Muldoon, 57, star of Melrose Place and former Calvin Klein model, was discovered dead in the shower of his Beverly Hills home by his girlfriend of two years, 53-year-old film and music producer Miriam Rothbart. The cause is believed to be a heart attack.

'Denise has been through a lot - more than anyone would in a lifetime,' a friend told the Daily Mail. 'Last year was one of the hardest of her life. She was working on regaining her strength, but then this unfortunate news about her best friend Patrick has broken her again.'

In a tribute posted to Instagram, Richards said that she was 'deeply heartbroken & devastated' at the loss, adding that they met in acting class when she was 19 and he was 21. They dated for five years but remained lifelong confidantes.

'You were my best friend & my family,' she wrote. 'My whole adult life & I don't know it without you.'

Richards' daughter, Lola Sheen, 20, even said she had hoped they would reunite.

'The bond you two had was something so special, that no one can touch,' she wrote on Instagram. 'When I think of my mom I think of you. You guys came as a package and I'm so thankful I got to know you and witness a friendship so pure and special in front of my eyes.

'I always begged my mom, I'm sure she told you, that you guys would end up back together haha, but I guess staying best friends was better anyways.'

A source close to Richards told the Daily Mail she was 'inconsolable' at his death and 'can't stop crying.'

But a longtime friend of Muldoon's downplayed any chance of a reconciliation with his ex, saying he and Richards were 'done' romantically decades ago, and stressing that Rothbart was the love of his life and the one likely to make an honest man of him.

'Patrick dated Denise, but Patrick dated everybody,' the source told the Daily Mail. 'Patrick was like a brother to her. Patrick had his own life. Denise makes it seem as though it's bigger than it really is - Patrick's nice to everybody. Yeah that was her guy [at one time], but people don't want to hear that from her. He has his own girlfriend that he was in love with.

'Yeah, he went out with [Denise], but he went out with a lot of people.

'If he wanted to get back with her, he would. He had so much going on - his passion was music, making movies, acting.'

Muldoon's sister Shana Muldoon Zappa said the pair were like siblings.

'They truly have been friends for so long,' she told the Daily Mail. 'I think it's hard for people to understand that, but that's the reality. Their friendship never ended.'

Muldoon Zappa said Richards' emotional post was 'authentic' and pointed out that the pair supported each other throughout their rollercoaster lives.

Muldoon left Richards in the 1990s for actress Tori Spelling and was part of her hell-raising Hollywood crew. He then dated Juliette Binoche on-and-off for 18 years - Muldoon Zappa describes the French actress as 'one of the loves of his life' - before meeting Rothbard, who he affectionately termed 'my girl.' He never married and had no children.

Richards, meanwhile, was in a headline-grabbing marriage to Charlie Sheen for four years, from 2002 to 2006, before dating Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora - the ex-husband of her friend Heather Locklear. While she was with Sambora, both of their parents were battling cancer: her mother died from kidney cancer in 2007, aged 54, with his father dying from lung cancer the same year aged 70. Sambora then checked himself into rehab for alcohol and painkiller addiction.

Richards went on to marry, Aaron Phypers - a former actor turned practitioner of 'frequency medicine' and holistic health - in 2018, less than 48 hours after getting engaged. The tumultuous union ended in July 2025, with her accusing him of domestic violence and obtaining a restraining order, publishing photos of her black eye.

He denied abusing her and in turn accused her of being addicted to the prescription painkiller Vicodin.

In July 2025, Richards' lawyer said: 'Ms Richards will not be responding to Mr Phypers' false allegations in a public forum and will be addressing Mr Phypers' abuse in Court.'

Their acrimonious divorce is continuing, with Richards recently being ordered to pay him $5,000 a month in spousal support.

Richards says remains focused on raising her three children; Eloise, and her two daughters with Sheen - Lola, a born-again Christian who publicly champions her faith, and Sami, a 22-year-old OnlyFans model.

'We couldn't be more different,' Sami told People magazine last year. Lola added: 'We are just walking in completely different paths of life and that's okay.'

Richards was so supportive of Sami - who has earned $3 million for her content since turning 18 in 2022 - that she even followed her daughter onto the site, joining just days after. Her divorce filings said she made between $200-300,000 a month from adult entertainment.

Throughout it all, Muldoon Zappa said, her brother and Richards were each other's rocks - noting they were 'not the best dating match,' but 'had a very spiritual and beautiful connection.'

'We've always all been friends,' said Muldoon Zappa, who first met Richards when she was 10. 'I knew her mother and we were there when Denise's mom passed away.

'She's gone through some really hard things, post ever being with Patrick. She's made some real doozies of male choices and gone through it. And my brother's always been there. They almost had a brother-sister relationship, in a weird way.'

Indeed, Muldoon's last public appearance was with Richards, to promote their new film Dirty Hands - which begins streaming on Friday.

The pair were at the Saturn Awards in Los Angeles on March 8.

But those who know the Illinois-born beauty, who moved to Los Angeles as a teenager when her father tired of the cold winters, say she is resilient, and will get through this fresh sadness.

'Denise is a survivor,' said one source, who knew Richards during her two seasons on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

'The amount of s*** she's gone through is unreal. And she handles it well. She will call you with the worst news: "I'm going through a divorce" or "now I'm being sued." And she doesn't want sympathy. She's going to handle her stuff. It just keeps coming and she takes it every time.'

The source told the Daily Mail that some of Richards' issues could be 'a consequence of her bad decisions,' but added that 'a lot of it is not.'

'She can't help a lot of the stuff that has come her way. Maybe Aaron wasn't the greatest choice she ever made, but she tried hard. She's always tried to keep her head up, and she tries to keep a smile on her face.

'Losing Patrick is heartbreaking and she's mourning, he was her best friend. but she's still handling things, being there for the kids, moving forward. I admire her.'

The friend, who has known her for several years, told the Mail: 'What's helped her get through it is the support from her close friends and family. She spends so much time with her daughters and that's truly what's important to her. She stays strong for them. She hides her pain and won't show that broken side of her on social media or in public because she wants to be a role model to others.'

The source described her as 'truly resilient' and selfless.

'She obviously needs money, especially after going through her divorce to Aaron, so she's working hard and doing what she can to stay aloft and support herself and her family. She's working on picking up the pieces and being the best version of herself. If that means getting plastic surgery - like a facelift - then she's 100 percent open to it. She wants to still look hot for her age, especially now that she's single.'

But an industry acquaintance said the actress was 'reeling.'

'Patrick was always "the one" in the back of her mind - the great love that never fully went away,' the source said. 'Given everything she's been through over the years this feels especially cruel. Friends worry because she tends to carry everything on her own, and this loss has brought up a lot of old emotions.

'She's strong, but this one has really knocked the wind out of her. She isn't looking for any more heartbreak - though she's come to expect it.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to Richard's representative for comment.

But, the source said, Muldoon's death only served to emphasize the need to live life to the fullest, without fear.

'It's not that she feels cursed - she's had plenty of incredible moments in her life too,' they said. 'But it's as if she's lived a thousand lifetimes, and that hasn't been easy to carry. She wakes up each day wondering what's next, knowing it could go either way.

'If anything, it's pushed her to make the most of her life.'