Denise Richards Says Charlie Sheen’s ‘Tiger Blood’ Days Opened Her Eyes to His Addiction

Denise Richards says she had no idea what she was walking into when she fell for Charlie Sheen.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 55, admitted she was blindsided by her ex-husband’s downward spiral during her appearance on the Monday, August 3 episode of Bunnie Xo‘s Dumb Blonde podcast.

According to Richards, she didn’t fully grasp the severity of the actor’s addiction until she saw it firsthand. “The person I met had been sober for four and a half years, went to AA, was very focused and just a very calm, nurturing person. That’s who I fell in love with,” she explained.

The former couple met in 2000 on the set of Good Advice and were married from 2002 to 2006. They share daughters Sami, 22, and Lola, 21.

Asked if that was “the real Charlie,” Richards seemed conflicted. “I don’t know, because I went back and forth with that too,” she told Bunnie, 46. “Like, on one hand, I do know that whatever went sideways with our marriage, the one thing I don’t doubt is that he didn’t love me. I really believe that he loved me.”

The Wild Things actress admitted she’d been naive about addiction early in the relationship, recalling that she didn’t see drug use up close “until during his tiger blood days. That was the first time I actually saw coke in person.”

Richards’ comment referenced Sheen’s widely publicized 2011 meltdown, when he was fired from Two and a Half Men and made a string of erratic television appearances, including a memorable 20/20 interview in which he discussed his drug use and claimed to have “tiger blood.”

Richards continued, “I was so naive,” adding “and then when things went sideways, they went sideways.”

Richards recalled being called on to intervene during some of Sheen’s darkest moments. “His security would often call me to help him because they would get fired if they knocked on his bedroom door. He was just so bad,” she said, adding that those around Sheen “almost in a weird way enabled it” because he was starring on a hit show.

“It was hard for me to watch everyone turning their heads to how bad he was,” she admitted.

Sheen detailed his drug use and career in his 2025 memoir The Book of Sheen.

These days, Sheen has traded his turbulent past for a supportive role in Richards’ life. As Star previously reported, Sheen has remained a steady presence for Richards as she navigates her divorce from estranged husband Aaron Phypers, 53, with a source noting that Sheen has been a “total rock” for Richards.