NEWSDenise Richards Lied to Her Daughters About Charlie Sheen's Addiction Struggles, Says the Situation 'Was Very Hard on the Girls'
Denise Richards is getting candid about the difficulties she endured while trying to parent with ex-husband Charlie Sheen during his substance-fueled benders.
In Denise's new joint interview with their budding star daughter Sami Sheen, 19, the actress revealed how she tried to handle things after one of the Emmy winner's infamous rampages.
Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen married in 2002 but stayed together for less than five years.
"I went to New York to promote a TV show and Charlie thought it would be great if he came, too. There was a very public incident that happened and we were able to get him back on a plane to L.A.," she recalled, referring to when Charlie, 58, trashed a room at the Plaza Hotel while on drugs in 2010. "I told the girls that he had to go to work [because] I didn’t know what to tell them."
At the time, the Two and a Half Men alum was found naked in his room after partying with women, despite still being married to the model.
Richards tried to shield her daughters from their dad's struggles.
He admitted to drinking and snorting cocaine, and he caused roughly $7,000 in damages to the hotel room.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the situation, but at the time, Denise, 52, had to try and beat around the bush when telling Sami and Lola, 18, what was going on.
"As they got older, and they were able to hear different things, they asked me why I didn’t tell them the truth," the former RHOBH star shared. "I said to them, ‘What would you have wanted me to say at your age? That your father was with a prostitute, or prostitutes, and he went sideways? How on Earth would I say that to you?’"
The former spouses share daughters Sami, 19, and Lola, 18.
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Denise did her best to help her kids understand the situation, but that only did so much.
"There are books, but there’s no book on dealing with it publicly. It was very hard on the girls," she admitted.
"There were so many white lies I had to tell [about] why he didn’t show up to school events or Christmas. He would say, ‘I’m on my way to the house to drop off a gift,’ and he would never show up," the star continued. "I remember one Christmas Sami crying and saying, ‘It’s not Christmas without Dad.’ I really did not know how to explain it."
Charlie has three more kids from other romances, while Denise has another daughter.
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It's because of Charlie's past that the actor is fearful of how his girls will turn out, and as OK! reported, he isn't thrilled that Sami has joined the adult platform OnlyFans.
"Charlie's attempting to be supportive and not judge Sami, but he's very concerned. He's losing sleep over his precious girl turning into a hot mess," a source told a news outlet. "Sami follows the beat of her own drum. No one can tell her what to do."
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On the other hand, Denise supports Sami's endeavors, and she's even launched an OnlyFans account herself.
Bustle interviewed Denise.
