Denise Richards has revealed why she left Charlie Sheen when she was six months pregnant with their younger daughter Lola.
The 51-year-old filed for divorce in 2005, and during their explosive split she accused Charlie of making death threats against her, shoving her and endangering their children due to his penchant for prostitutes and pornography.
On a new episode of the Dear Media podcast Divorced Not Dead, Denise said: ‘You know what it was is I said to myself: “Would I want my daughters to be married to this man?” No offense to him but it’s true.’
Split: Denise Richards has revealed why she left Charlie Sheen while six months pregnant with their younger daughter Lola; the couple are pictured weeks before the divorce filing
She added: ‘And I think he would take that – he would understand what I’m saying. And that’s when I was like: “Well, why am I accepting this?”‘
Charlie and Denise married in 2002 and they welcomed two daughters together in quick succession – Sami, 18, and Lola, 17.
Denise told podcast host Caroline Stanbury that the collapse of the marriage was down to ‘many things, but 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. I feel that was not a good marriage, obviously, and relationship.’
Later on she reflected: ‘Well, there’s a lot that the public doesn’t know, and you never know what goes on behind closed doors, so it was not a good situation.’
Retrospective: On Divorced Not Dead, Denise said: ‘You know what it was is I said to myself: “Would I want my daughters to be married to this man?”; she is pictured this summer
Despite the financial implications of the divorce: ‘I would have rather live in a tent than live in the houses we had at that point. I didn’t care. I would’ve been in my car. It was very toxic, so the real thing was my kids, like, would I want this for them? And that’s when I said, well, okay, why am I accepting it for myself?’
She pointed out that ‘also I didn’t want to condone certain situations and behavior and make [her daughters] think, as they would be getting older, that’s okay too.’
However for ‘years’ she ‘struggled’ with how ‘guilty’ she felt over ‘breaking up the family unit,’ especially as her own parents were married until her mother died.
Denise and Charlie’s divorce was finalized in November 2006 with a court order stipulating that other than during supervised visits, Charlie remain 300 feet from Denise and their daughters, according to Access Hollywood.
Pregnant with Lola: Denise told podcast host Caroline Stanbury that the collapse of the marriage was down to ‘many things, but I don’t regret my marriage to Charlie’
Charlie, who was reportedly once thrown out of the Plaza Hotel by police after trashing his room while on cocaine, is now HIV positive.
He and his next wife Brooke Mueller, who both had widely reported drug problems, welcomed twin sons called Max and Bob, 13.
In 2013 it was Denise who stepped in and temporarily cared for the boys after the government took them from their mother on account of her drug problem.
She told Caroline during her new podcast appearance that she took the twins in because ‘I’m a family girl and I just wanted to keep the peace with the kids.’
Teenager: Lola, who is now 17 years old, is pictured on her Instagram about a year ago
Charlie and Denise have been locked in multiple rancorous battles involving their own two daughters, including a lawsuit she filed in 2016.
Denise accused Charlie of having told her in 2013: ‘I am going to sever your head and mail it to your father.’
She also claimed that Charlie had texted Lola: ‘Have a merry Xmas with your loser f***s**t mom… your dad is a rock star genius … your mom is a p*** wart,’ when his daughter was only eight years old.
However by the following year they had evidently become friendly again and were spotted taking their children to a Twenty-One Pilots concert.
Wow: After turning 18 this year, Sami started an OnlyFans account, and although her father Charlie does not support her decision, Denise has defended her
Denise has been determined that she and Charlie ‘show up’ for the children and be ‘in front of them,’ co-parenting as amicably as possible.
She told Caroline she ‘never wanted them to sense any discord between us because I didn’t want them to feel, I don’t know, unsettled, you know what I mean?’
Denise pointed out that during ‘the times where he was in a good space and able to, I wanted the girls to get to know their dad for him, and not what – he struggled with the addiction so bad there was a huge possibility that he would not be here today.’
‘I did Wild Things & Playboy’: ‘I have to say, I wish I had the confidence my 18 yr old daughter has,’ Denise declared, adding: ‘And I also can’t be judgmental of her choices’
Her approach to co-parenting was that ‘I wanted them to know their dad for him and not what they may or may not read about him, you know?’
After turning 18 this year, Sami started an OnlyFans account, and although her father Charlie does not support her decision, Denise has defended her.
‘I have to say, I wish I had the confidence my 18 yr old daughter has. And I also can’t be judgmental of her choices,’ Denise wrote on Instagram. ‘I did Wild Things & Playboy, quite frankly her father shouldn’t be either.’
As seen on Instagram: In fact Denise approved so enthusiastically of Sami’s decision to join OnlyFans that she has followed in her daughter’s footsteps and launched a page there herself
In fact Denise approved so enthusiastically of Sami’s decision to join OnlyFans that she has followed in her daughter’s footsteps and launched a page there herself.
Sami told TMZ she was ‘happy for’ her mother, adding: ‘I don’t mind at all…. I’m super happy, she’s doing really well.’
Denise, who adopted her youngest daughter Eloise in 2011, is now married to Nicollette Sheridan’s dashing ex-husband Aaron Phypers.