Denise Richards has been granted a five-year restraining order against her soon-to-be-ex husband Aaron Phypers – after accusing him of physically and emotionally abusing her throughout their seven-year marriage.
Phypers, 53, was arrested outside a Los Angeles courthouse during a restraining order hearing last month and charged with two felony counts of injuring a spouse.
On Friday, the feuding couple appeared in court again for a continuance of that hearing, during which a judge ordered Phypers to stay away from the actress, stop threatening or harassing her, and to hand over any guns to police.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas also ordered him to stop leaking or sharing nude photos of the 54-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star.
Phypers, who filed for divorce from Richards in July citing ‘irreconcilable differences’, was released just hours after his October 17 arrest amid their ongoing divorce battle.
He swiftly bonded out of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station that same night after satisfying his $200,000 bail.
Denise Richards was granted a five-year restraining order against her estranged husband Aaron Phypers during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Friday
Phypers filed for divorce from Richards in July, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’, with their date of separation listed as July 4, 2025
Earlier that day, Phypers and Richards were both present for a court hearing when he was suddenly taken into custody by L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies.
At the time of the arrest, Phypers’s lawyer Michael Finley told the Daily Mail he had not yet seen the criminal complaint but ‘it appears to be the same allegations we’re already fighting, and I think we’re proving it all to be false in the domestic violence case.’
‘So, we expect it to also be proven false and for him to be exonerated in this new criminal case.’
Documents later obtained by the Daily Mail revealed Phypers was charged with two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat.
The documents state the two charges of dissuading a witness by force or threat and one of the charges for injuring a spouse allegedly occurred on January 17, 2022.
The second charge of injuring a spouse allegedly took place on May 3, 2022.
Phypers was ordered to stay away from the actress, stop threatening or harassing her, and to hand over any guns to police
Richards, seen leaving court with her legal team on Friday, has accused her ex of physical abuse and threatening her – which Phypers denies
Finley told the Daily Mail: ‘We feel that it is highly unusual that criminal charges would be brought now over allegations from nearly four years ago.
‘In our opinion, Denise’s allegations are false, so we expect that the evidence will prove Aaron’s innocence and that he will be exonerated.’
During the October 17 hearing, Phypers’s mother had testified that she saw Richards throw a can opener at her son, prompting the hearing to get contentious. She also said Phypers never abused or threatened Richards.
The actress has accused her ex of physical abuse and threatening her, but Phypers denied ever ‘physically or emotionally’ abusing her in a statement with People.
