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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Denise Richards and her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, are currently in court over her temporary restraining order against him. Recently, he took the stand and faced questions about his alleged abuse of her. He offered an explanation for her bruises seen in previously released photos, and he denied giving her a black eye.
Aaron first filed for divorce from Denise on July 7. He cited irreconcilable differences as the reason and listed their date of separation as July 4. The two tied the knot on September 8, 2018. Their divorce has been contentious, with her accusing him of abuse and him alleging that she cheated and also harassed him.
Per US Weekly, Aaron was ordered to testify in court on October 8. While on the stand, he was shown a photo of Denise with a black eye, and he stated that he had never seen it until after their divorce filing. The photo was from 2022. When asked about Denise, he said she “bruises easily.”
He also said that while he had no recollection of her having a black eye, he recalled her being “bruised” around the eye. Aaron then added, “She would bruise her arms, all sorts of stuff. She’d bruise herself while cooking … falling down.” Aaron also claimed that she became injured “often.”
He continued discussing her bruises, explaining, “It may have been accidentally [done], I don’t know.” This led his attorney to remind him that he only needed to say if he saw Denise bruise herself. He then said, “No. I don’t feel she was intentionally doing it.”
According to US Weekly, Aaron also answered more specific questions about the claims of abuse toward Denise. Notably, his cousin, Dr. Kathleen McAllister, testified that she had seen him become violent with Denise at his wellness center in 2022.
When asked if he had hit Denise in the eye, Aaron responded, “Absolutely not.” According to Aaron, she had been drinking and told him that she ran into a pole. He was then asked if he had hit her on the head. Aaron said, “No, I did not.”
From there, they began discussing how often she visited him at the wellness center. He explained, “Several days a week. She used it for Zoom and other various things. She came in quite a bit.”
This then led to him denying other claims of abuse, including Denise’s makeup artist stating that she heard Aaron issue threats to the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star. He was then asked if it was true he had threatened to kill Denise. Aaron responded, “No. Never.”
Later in the testimony, the attorney asked if it was true he called her a “whore” on July 4. According to him, “I never called her that. It’s not true.” Elsewhere in the testimony, he denied causing her to suffer concussions, said he did not call her a “bi***,” and claimed he did not own any guns. Aaron also denied stealing her laptop, but he admitted to taking pictures of the content from the device. Additionally, he said he never threatened to take his own life.