Aaron Phypers is not just trying to end his marriage to Denise Richards. He is now asking a Los Angeles judge to order the actress to start paying him spousal support immediately, deepening their already bitter split into a public fight over money, image, and ownership.
TLDR
Aaron Phypers has asked a judge to order Denise Richards to pay him temporary spousal support and a share of her OnlyFans and reality show income, while she pushes back in court and a separate domestic violence case remains pending.
Inside the New Court Filing
According to documents obtained by Page Six, Phypers claims his finances have collapsed and that he needs support from Richards now, not after a final divorce judgment. In the new filing, he argues that his business operations were disrupted in late 2024 and that he no longer has what he calls a stable income.
He frames the support request as a question of fairness while their divorce plays out. In the paperwork, Phypers argues that temporary spousal support should be based on need and the other party’s ability to pay. He says it should not hinge on who may ultimately be found at fault or how their property will eventually be divided.
The documents say the court is obligated, in his words, to “ensure equitable interim conditions” by ordering Richards to pay him temporary support. Put simply, he is asking for the lifestyle and financial cushion he says he had during the marriage, even as the legal and personal fallout between them grows more complicated.
There is another layer that complicates that request. Phypers was arrested in court in October in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident, and there is still a pending criminal case. That kind of case can undermine any financial argument, especially when the person under criminal scrutiny is the one seeking financial support.
In his filing, Phypers stresses that he has entered a plea of not guilty and that there has been, as he puts it, “no criminal conviction.” He has repeatedly denied Richards’ accusations of domestic abuse and is now asking the family court to consider his need for support separately from any future outcome on the criminal side.
Previous filings described Phypers as “out of money and financially desperate” as rent and other expenses piled up. The new request for immediate support is the most direct sign yet of how strained his finances have become as the divorce drags on.
OnlyFans Money and Reality TV
Beyond monthly support, Phypers is drawing a line around two of Richards’ most talked-about revenue streams. In the filing, he claims he is entitled to what he calls “50% compensation” from Richards’ OnlyFans presence, which he has previously claimed can bring in as much as $300,000 per month.
He argues that Richards is profiting from content that he helped create. The documents state, “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.”
That argument frames their split as a more modern kind of celebrity divorce, one in which the question is not just who keeps the house, but who owns the income from curated images, subscription content, and a carefully constructed online persona. For Richards, OnlyFans has been a newer chapter in a long career. For Phypers, it is now a place where he says he is owed a cut.
Phypers also points to her work in reality television. He says he expected to be paid for his appearances and behind-the-scenes work on her Bravo series, “Denise Richards & Her Wild Things,” which was produced by Smoke & Mirrors Entertainment, LLC.
“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,” he alleges in the filing.
The claims turn what might have been a private financial negotiation into a public tug-of-war over intellectual property, brand-building, and the blurred line between marital partnership and informal business partnership. If a spouse shoots the photos that help sell a glamorous online persona, how much does that work belong to them, especially after the marriage ends?
A Marriage Built on Work
Richards and Phypers married in 2018, a later-in-life love story for a star already familiar to most viewers. Richards rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s with films such as “Starship Troopers” and “Wild Things,” and later brought her private life to viewers through “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and other reality shows.
By the time she married Phypers, she had weathered a headline-heavy divorce from Charlie Sheen and was raising three daughters while maintaining a career that blended nostalgia, fan loyalty, and new ventures. Phypers, an actor and wellness entrepreneur, often appeared beside her as a partner both at home and on camera.
According to People, Richards joined OnlyFans after publicly backing her daughter, Sami Sheen, in her decision to create an account on the platform. The move was framed as a mother standing behind an adult daughter in charge of her own image, while also taking control of her own body and branding on her own terms.
For fans who had grown up watching Richards on movie screens and cable reruns, the shift into subscription content felt like another reinvention. It was also a business decision that aligned her with a growing wave of celebrities using direct-to-fan platforms to generate consistent income.
Phypers’ new filing suggests that behind the scenes, those creative and financial choices were more intertwined as a couple than viewers may have realized. He portrays himself as someone who not only supported the strategy but also contributed work that should now be compensated.
The couple’s separation in 2025 marked the end of a seven-year stretch in which they often presented a united front. Now, each new filing adds another layer to how that partnership is being rewritten in legal language and financial spreadsheets.
What Happens to Their Brands
Richards’ camp has already begun to push back. In January, she asked a judge to deny Phypers’ request for half of her OnlyFans earnings, arguing that he had missed a key deadline to submit an updated income and expense declaration. That kind of procedural detail may sound dry, but it can decide who has leverage.
Representatives for both Richards and Phypers did not respond to Page Six when asked for comment on the latest filing. Without public statements from either side, their narratives are coming through legal documents, court dates, and the occasional courthouse photograph.
For Richards, the stakes reach beyond monthly checks. She has spent decades cultivating an image that mixes bombshell glamour with survivor grit, from blockbuster thrillers to confessional reality TV. She now has a stake in how fans view her choices on platforms like OnlyFans, where intimacy, empowerment, and revenue all intersect.
Any perception that she is unfairly withholding money from a former partner could complicate that image, especially among long-time fans who have followed her since the 1990s. At the same time, plenty of observers may see a woman protecting her earnings and creative control after a marriage that ended amid serious allegations.
For Phypers, the calculus is different. Public court documents have painted a picture of financial strain, from claims that he fell behind on rent to the new assertion that he needs immediate support to maintain stability. A pending domestic violence case, along with reports of a dramatic arrest in court, hangs over his public persona as he argues that his contributions to Richards’ brand deserve to be recognized in dollars.
The legal question is straightforward on paper. A judge will weigh need, ability to pay, and the character of the assets in question. The emotional reality around this couple is less tidy. Their divorce is no longer only about ending a relationship. It is about who owns the work, the images, and the income streams that once felt like shared building blocks of a life together.
Whatever the court decides on temporary support and the disputed income, it will help define the next chapter for both. For a generation of viewers who first met Denise Richards in movie theaters, watching her fight over subscription photos and reality show profits with an ex-husband is a reminder of how much celebrity, marriage, and money have changed.
Join the Discussion
Do you see Aaron Phypers’ claims as a fair bid for recognition of his contributions, or as an overreach into Denise Richards’ hard-earned brand and income?
