Why is Denise Richards Leaving The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Here’s What We Think

Denise Richards is certainly having to deal with some wild things on her sophomore run on RHOBH. The actor and former Bond Girl must have gotten used to her fair share of bad press when she was married to —and divorcing— her ex-husband, Charlie Sheen. However, the affair rumours swirling around her and Brandi Glanville this season are seemingly taking their toll.

It is revealed during the first episode of RHOBH season 10 that Denise Richards stopped filming with the cast in December of 2019. Seemingly, this was because of her fighting with much of the group — particularly with Kyle Richards and former friend Lisa Rinna, based on the episodes and previews we have seen so far. But could that be enough to make her leave the show altogether?

If you too are wondering why Denise Richards left The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, keep reading to see our take.

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The cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 10

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1 / 11

Denise Richards makes it official

A rep for Denise Richards confirmed to Variety that the star would not be returning to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for season 11. The news went public only hours before part two of the RHOBH reunion was set to air, confirming what Richards had been playing coy about all season. Though a specific reason wasn't mentioned, we've been predicting this departure for quite some time. Read on to see why.

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Aaron Phypers

The only thing missing from this season of RHOBH was Aaron Phyper’s diamond. Denise Richards’ tequila-loving husband certainly made no fans among the ladies or the audience, talking down aggressively to them at a luncheon at Kyle’s house — leading to Teddi Mellencamp later referring to him as an “a—hole” in her confessional. He then threatened to crush Denise’s hand as they made their escape; yikes. After that, he came head-to-head with Erika at an event at Sutton’s store and, once more, Denise whisked him away. Most annoyingly, he then skipped the reunion.

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Denise stopped shooting in December

It had also been long rumoured that Denise Richards had stopped filming RHOBH because of the rumours surrounding her alleged affair with Brandi Glanville. The media speculation was confirmed in a preview during the season 10 premiere, with a screen caption reading “In December, Denise stopped shooting with the group.” Co-star Lisa Rinna comments, "If you ask me, we'll never see Denise Richards again.”

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Legal issues with Charlie Sheen

During the season 10 premiere, Denise Richards admits that she is having legal issues over child support with her ex-husband, actor Charlie Sheen. While on their group trip to New York City, Denise tells the women, “[Charlie] hasn't paid me child support in over a year. And he's very lucky cause I never took him to court. It is such a toxic road. It brings up so much anxiety. I'm so done dealing with this.” Given the emotional toll of potential legal battles, this could have been enough to make Denise ditch RHOBH.

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Feuding with her cast mates

Other than newbie and long-time friend Garcelle Beauvais, Denise Richards is feuding with most of her RHOBH cast mates — seemingly stemming from threesome comments made in front of her kids. She and Kyle Richards have clashed at virtually every dinner party, with the OG (in)famously calling her a “ragamuffin.” Denise and her husband Aaron have also butted heads with Erika Girardi and Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, and she is additionally seen confronting former bestie Lisa Rinna in the season preview, with the latter ominously saying, “You’re so angry.”

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Her husband, Aaron Phypers

Denise Richards’ husband, Canada-born light and frequency therapist Aaron Phypers, has clashed multiple times with her cast mates — wading into The Real Housewives’ drama and getting loud with Erika Girardi and Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave at a dinner party at Kyle Richards’ manse. Clearly he was worked up; while Denise tried to hush him, he threatened: "Don't tell me what to say, I'm going to crush your f-ing hand.” Besides being a [insert judgement here], it does not sound like he enjoyed her commitment to the show.

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Breaking the fourth wall

While directly involving the producers or camera crew has become a new The Real Housewives trend, Denise Richards seems to have picked up a few tricks for breaking the fourth wall. Notably, in the season 10 preview, she yells “Bravo, Bravo, f-ing Bravo!” Clearly she hoped to make the footage unusable, as had worked in previously — and does not care if she gets in trouble for it.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast

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Skipping the reunion

As Lisa Rinna speculates to Kyle Richards during the season 10 preview, she doubts Denise Richards will come to the reunion. This alongside the fact that Denise stopped filming with the women in December, has fuelled rumours that she’s quit RHOBH. However, she later told Hollywood Life: “The only people who’ve said that I’m not going to the reunion are some of the ladies on the show and they never asked me if I was going or not. I’m planning on going if we still have [it].”

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Did the astrologer predict it?

Erika Girardi hosted a dinner with the women, complete with astrologer Shawn Breathwaite, who read their star charts. Why? Because it’s Beverly Hills, obviously. Notably, he told Denise Richards: “But the thing is, there is a side of you that is gonna be hidden. So, of anyone, the one that will have the most to reveal will be you.” Could the secret she was hiding be that she wanted to quit RHOBH?

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Denise Richards may be too busy

Besides being a wife and mother of three, who may be going to court with her ex-husband, Denise Richards is also a working actress. According to IMDB, she has eight projects that have yet to be released as well as her ongoing role on soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, which already caused her to leave gal pal Garcelle Beauvais’ LA Mission award ceremony early. Could Denise just be too busy for RHOBH?

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Focus on her health

This season on RHOBH, we saw Denise Richards had to have an emergency procedure to remove four hernias, which left her in a lot of pain — both before and after the surgery. While it seems like she addressed the problem before things got irreversibly bad, it would be completely understandable if Denise quit The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to focus on her health.