‘Scary Movie’ Star Denise Richards (55) Explains Why She Went Public About Her Facelift After Her Ex Raised It in Court

Denise Richards has never been one to shy away from the spotlight, from her film roles in ‘Wild Things’ and ‘Starship Troopers’ to her time on ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’. But over the past year, the actress has also become unusually candid about something many celebrities keep private: cosmetic surgery.

The 55-year-old underwent a facelift roughly a year ago with Beverly Hills surgeon Dr. Ben Talei, marking her first cosmetic facial procedure. The timing was complicated, as Richards has said she had the surgery just 10 days before her divorce from Aaron Phypers began.

Now Richards is revealing exactly why she chose to talk openly about it. In a recent podcast appearance, she explained that her estranged husband deliberately brought up the facelift during a court proceeding.

Richards said she was pleasantly surprised that the media present in the courtroom didn’t report it at the time. Even so, she decided that being honest was the better path, explaining that she didn’t want to give him that kind of power over her story.

Denise Richards reveals she decided to openly discuss her facelift after her ex brought it up in court "My ex that I’m divorcing, he said something in court about it, on purpose, and I was so pleasantly so surprised because there was media in there that they didn’t print it, which was nice." "I figured, you know what, I think I just need to be honest and I want it, I didn’t want to give him that power and have to say it then." "And so four months later, my publicist did a, got me a really nice piece in allure, a piece on my facelift that I had done a year ago." "I’m so glad that I’ve been open about it. I didn’t know how people would react, but I think I want to know what everyone’s doing, what’s peptides, what this, what that."

— nuel (@c68ty) October 14, 2026

About 4 months later, her publicist secured a feature in Allure focused on the procedure. Richards said she’s glad she chose transparency, admitting she didn’t know how people would react.

She added that she personally enjoys hearing what others are doing, from treatments to peptides, and wanted to be part of that open conversation. For Richards, owning the narrative clearly mattered.

In her Allure interview, Richards recalled that her ex disclosed the surgery during their divorce. She said he had a photographer show up outside an appointment where she was getting microneedling on her scars and told someone the facelift was botched, a claim she called ridiculous.

Richards admitted she went back and forth about whether to say anything at all. She also noted that, after being in the public eye since her 20s, a facelift wasn’t something she could realistically hide.

Richards has been strikingly detailed about the work she had done. Speaking on Bunnie Xo’s ‘Dumb Blonde’ podcast, she explained that her surgeon addressed her neck, lower face, upper face, and brow, along with her upper eyelids, leaving only her lower lids untouched.

She compared doing just one area to remodeling a single room in a house that then no longer matches the rest. While she said the brow lift was especially painful, she called it the best thing she did for herself.

Not everyone in her family was on board at first. Richards revealed that her older daughters, Sami and Lola, whom she shares with Charlie Sheen, initially opposed the decision and felt she was too young.

In a moment of irony, her 22-year-old daughter reminded Richards that she had refused to let her get a nose job at 20. Richards nonetheless trusted her surgeon completely, giving him full creative control.

The facelift arrived during a period of major personal upheaval. Richards’ divorce from Phypers has been highly public and emotionally draining, and she has described the past year as one of letting go and truths coming to light.

Through it all, she has said the results left her feeling like herself again. Her goal, as she has put it, was simply to restore what had been there before. Richards’ candor stands out in an industry where cosmetic procedures are often kept quiet.

By telling her story on her own terms, she turned a moment meant to embarrass her into an honest conversation. Her openness has resonated with fans who appreciate celebrities being upfront about their choices. If anything, it seems she has no regrets about speaking out.

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