Denise Richards Breaks Down in Tears While Looking Back on Sexual Assault at Age 15
Denise Richards is bravely opening up about her sexual assault.
During the season 3 premiere of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test on Wednesday (January 8), the 53-year-old Wild Things actress and her fellow recruits were challenged to complete a helicopter extraction.
The challenge made Denise look back at her past.
Keep reading to find out more… “I really want to learn how to not be overwhelmed by fear,” Denise shared. “I’ve been through traumatic situations that have been very terrifying for me. I want to learn how to deal with those issues and be stronger.”
After failing the challenge, the Directing Staff (DS) brought Denise in for a conversation after they noticed that she had “a deer in the headlights kind of look” during the exercise.
“It’s hard. I’m completely out of my comfort zone,” Denise admitted. “I’m not petrified. I’m emotional right now.”
After the DS noted that she “froze” during the exercise, Denise responded, “Yes, I’m completely overcome by certain fearful situations, and I want to learn how to stay calm and do something.”
She continued, “Part of the reason I wanted to do this course is I’ve been in situations where I freeze and I can’t function, I can’t even speak to protect myself.”
Denise then went on to recall the 2022 road rage incident where she and husband Aaron Phypers were shot at by another driver.
“We were driving. He wanted to take me to [a] set,” Denise said. “He didn’t want me going alone, thank God, and we were physically shot at in his truck, and I sat on the floor and was just literally, I peed. I was so scared… I froze.”
“The first time I ever experienced that I was 15 and I noticed a man following me,” Denise continued. “He came up from behind me, put his hand around my mouth, grabbed my vagina, and started dragging me, and I froze, like I couldn’t even scream for help.”
After admitting that she had only told her husband about the assault, Denise broke down in tears and said, “It’s so scary to have that situation, you know, that age and be so vulnerable. And I have three daughters, and I want them to be able to never go through that. And also, if something, God forbid, happen to be strong enough.”
In a confessional, Denise reflected on how she has never been able to move past the sexual assault.
“I think that I haven’t addressed a lot of what I have gone through, and it’s very terrifying,” Denise admitted. “I don’t know if I would be able to get over my past.”
In a recent interview, Denise shared how she “ruptured” her breast implants while filming Special Forces.