God bless her, Denise Richards is once again being dragged through messy drama right in the public eye. It’s a tale as old as time: a famous beauty begins divorcing her ex-husband who is suddenly taking a keen interest in the financial side of her career that he didn’t build. This time, Richard’s soon-to-be ex has decided that he’s entitled to half of her OnlyFans earnings. Too bad for him, he missed the paperwork deadline the judge set.
Here’s the background info you need to understand what’s happening here. Denise Richards is an actress and pop-culture fixture, and has been since the late 90’s (yes, you’re welcome to feel old with me here). She first caught national attention in her breakout roles in Wild Things, Starship Troopers, and definitely had jaws dropping when she had the honor of being one of the iconic Bond girls in The World is Not Enough. She was a fan-favorite in more recent years for her run on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, though some people griped that she was just a little “too-normal” for the typical Real Housewives chaos. She’s long been a favorite target for tabloid bullies, and that isn’t getting any easier with her current situation.
The poor woman has a history of being married to men who, frankly, don’t deserve her. She was married to Charlie Sheen, and then went through an extremely public, extremely chaotic divorce, due largely to his shenanigans. Even though he was the person behind said shenanigans, it still resulted in Denise (and their children) being tabloid fodder for YEARS. She married Aaron Phypers in 2018, and honestly believed that marriage would bring her into a calmer and safer chapter of her life. Given her allegations that he’d been physically abusing her, I think she’s going to have to wait a minute before the good ship Calm pulls into harbor for her. She keeps finding men who enjoy the lifestyle, the proximity to fame (granted, Charlie was famous in his own right), and the idea of being married to a famous beauty; however their appreciation for the actual woman seems to fly out the window once there’s money on the table.
Here’s the current drama: Richards has a wildly popular OnlyFans page that she uses to support herself and her family. Phypers is asking to receive HALF OF HER ONLYFANS INCOME. She claims earnings of roughly $200,000 – $300,000 per month, so she’s not exactly scraping by there, but still! He argues that because he acted as her photographer during their marriage, that he helped build her account. Her argument is that it’s her image, her labor, her audience, and that taking pictures does not mean that he has any ownership over her brand. My argument is that being married to the talent doesn’t make you the talent.
Anyhow, Aaron Phypers has run into a little snag in his quest to own half of Denise’s assets. She’s asked a judge to deny his request entirely, and in light of him having fully failed to file required financial paperwork by the court deadline, she might just get her way. The judge hasn’t ruled yet, but… well. Courts love deadlines. They do NOT love weird vibes, entitlement, or blatant plays for control from resentful ex-husbands.
Here’s my “bigger picture” rant that you knew was coming: men want the money machine, not the maintenance. OnlyFans is seen as “easy money” by people who aren’t putting their literal skin in the game, but the branding, the consistency, the audience management, the authenticity, and the public scrutiny? All of that is a LOT of work on creator’s shoulders, and Phypers is showing up after the fact asking for part ownership? AT MOST he deserves to be compensated for the images he captured, and then sent on his merry way. Possibly with a restraining order that requires him to stay away from his ex-wife.
Had he been serious about that money, he could’ve filed his paperwork on time in the very least. Instead, the whole thing reads like financial opportunism, and using the court system to wage psychological warfare on his soon-to-be ex. Denise Richards deserves some goddamn peace, or in the very least, an ex-husband who respects a deadline.
