Denise Richards Forced To Pay Aaron Phypers Thousands Amid Messy Legal Fight

Denise Richards’ messy split from estranged husband Aaron Phypers has taken another dramatic turn. A judge has now ordered the actress to pay thousands in temporary spousal support as the former couple’s contentious divorce continues to unfold in court. The ruling comes amid ongoing legal disputes, financial accusations, and Phypers’ pending criminal case, all of which have kept the former spouses locked in a highly public legal fight. While both sides have made competing claims throughout the proceedings, the latest court decision establishes new financial obligations for Denise Richards as the case moves forward.

According to court documents obtained by Daily Mail, Richards has been ordered to pay Phypers $5,000 per month in temporary spousal support. The payments are scheduled to begin in March and must be made on the fifth day of each month until the court issues a different order.

In addition to the monthly support, the actress must also cover $30,000 in related expenses. That total includes $25,000 toward her estranged husband’s legal fees and another $5,000 for a forensic accountant. The amount will be paid in installments of $10,000 per month between March and May.

Phypers initially requested spousal support when he filed for divorce in July 2025, and he renewed those requests earlier this year, citing financial instability.

In court filings, he claimed he does not have “stable income” after his “business operations and infrastructure” were “disrupted in late 2024.” He also argued that he is entitled to temporary support in order to maintain a “status quo” of “financial fairness during litigation.”

That's not all, because he claims in the record that "temporary support focuses primarily on need and ability to pay, not final fault determinations or ultimate property division," before further insisting that his ongoing criminal and domestic violence case should not prevent him from receiving support, stating there has been no conviction.

Despite the escalating legal battle, Richards appeared composed when she was seen outside a Los Angeles courthouse following the ruling. The actress reportedly looked upbeat as she exited the building, while Phypers appeared more somber when arriving shortly afterward.

The pair were married for nearly seven years before Phypers filed for divorce in July 2025, citing irreconcilable differences. They do not share biological children, though Phypers had previously planned to adopt Richards’ youngest daughter, Eloise, whom she adopted in 2011.

The divorce has been marked by multiple controversies beyond spousal support. According to TMZ, Phypers was charged in October with two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat. His bail was set at $200,000, and he has pleaded not guilty. The situation escalated further in December when he and his parents were evicted from the home he previously shared with Richards after allegations of more than $84,000 in unpaid rent.

Financial disagreements have also surfaced, including claims that Phypers was entitled to a portion of Richards’s OnlyFans earnings, something she disputed while accusing him of domestic abuse. "She is literally making money every single month from my intellectual property in the form of the photographs that I took of her that she has posted on her OnlyFans page," the documents read.

"I was supposed to receive 50% of the production income received by Smoke & Mirrors Entertainment, LLC, for that show, and instead, I have not received any of the production profits, nor any accounting for what the company received for that show," the docs further stated.

Richards recently addressed another controversy involving a since-deleted GoFundMe campaign created by Phypers’ parents.

During an appearance on Tori Spelling’s podcast, she criticized references to her daughter in the fundraiser. “Say whatever you want about me, which they have. I'll deal with that after the divorce,” the actress expressed. “But when you cross a line and bring my youngest daughter into trying to get money from strangers, it's outrageous, that is wrong.”

She continued, “To go to this level, to bring my daughter into it, it's more a personal thing. It is shocking, but whatever.”