Denise Richards shielded the truth from her two daughters with Charlie Sheen while the actor was personally and professionally struggling.
Richards, 54, admitted she may have “sheltered” her kids too much from the realities of what their father was going through while they were growing up.
The reality TV star recalled the lengths at which she went through to not only protect their daughters, but also maintain a healthy relationship with her ex-husband.
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Denise Richards recalled the ways she protected her children during Charlie Sheen’s struggles. (Getty Images)
The former couple tied the knot in 2002 and were married for just under three years before Richards filed for divorce in March 2005, when she was pregnant with their second daughter, Lola. They welcomed their first daughter, Sami, one year prior.
“If I was at a school performance, and he was supposed to show up, and I get a call, ‘Something happened sideways, hospital, whatever.’ I’m not going to tell the kids the truth,” she said on the “Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson” podcast. “I told them I lied, and I said, ‘Dad had to work.’”
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Richards added, “Some of the things were so outrageously bad where I’m like, ‘I can’t say that.’ So I did lie, and I sugar-coated, and I protected him.”
The “Denise Richards & Her Wild Things” star remembered one holiday when Sheen, 59, called from jail to wish the girls a Merry Christmas. The “Two and a Half Men” actor was arrested on Christmas Day in 2009 after allegedly assaulting and threatening to kill his then-wife Brooke Mueller.
Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards were married from 2002-06. (Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
“He was arrested on Christmas, and he called me from jail to say ‘Merry Christmas’ to the girls,” Richards said. “And they were busy playing with their toys. They’re like, ‘We’ll talk to Dad later.’ I go, ‘I think Dad’s gonna be a little busy later.’”
Richards shielded her young daughters from the truth of the situation.
“I didn’t say, ‘Your dad just got f—–g arrested, and he’s in jail so come say ‘Merry Christmas’ right now,'” she said.
Protecting her kids was always the primary focus, even if to a fault, Richards admitted.
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“I actually sheltered the kids almost to a point where, now as they’re getting older, they’re discovering things, and they were at first getting upset with me, like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me this?'” she said.
Sheen and Richards have two daughters together, Sami (right) and Lola (left). (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)
Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen were married for three years before their divorce was finalized in November 2006. (Jim Spellman/Getty Images)
The “Drop Dead Gorgeous” actress said her goal was to preserve her daughter’s relationship with Sheen, and not impede with her own emotions towards the situation.
“There was a time I didn’t know if he was gonna live, and I didn’t want the girls to ever get to know their dad [from] what they would read,” she explained. “I wanted it to be their experience and their relationship. And I also didn’t want to put on them my feelings because that’s not fair to them and their relationship with him.”
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Despite the challenging times, Richards still insists on keeping the family united, and will go out of her way to include Sheen.
“I even told Charlie, ‘I don’t care if you’re pissed at me. Let’s have dinner with the girls. Just f—— suck it up,’” she recalled. “Because they’re our daughters. Tthey don’t deserve to have their family split. Now your other ex-wife and your kid, you know what I mean? Like, let’s all keep it harmonious as much as possible. So that’s why still to this day, I still try to do it.”
