There's a Beverly chill in the air as the 90210 tides turn on Denise Richards -- and season 10 of RHOBH promises to reveal what led the sophomore diamond-holder to briefly quit the show.
Here's what we know to be true: Denise stopped filming with the other women in December. Prior to that, on a group trip to Rome in November, she was reportedly confronted by a castmate about rumors of a monthslong extramarital affair with, of all people, Brandi Glanville. Denise's rep adamantly denies it. ET has confirmed that the accusations will play out in season 10.
But is it all over Brandi? "There are always two sides to every story -- and both women will have the chance to tell their complete story -- but I think it's safe to say Brandi is coming with the receipts," Erika Jayne told ET's Brice Sander, while Teddi Mellencamp countered, "This is not the story… A lot of things were going down with Denise before Brandi -- allegedly -- and that's really the issue."
So, what is Denise's supposed secret she doesn't want out? The alleged affair? Or might it have something to do with ex-husband Charlie Sheen? We'll have to tune in, as the 'Wives are wont to say, but below, ET will be keeping detailed notes, week by week, as Denise-gate unfolds.
EPISODE 6: "Read Between The Signs"
She may be f**king Denise Richards, sure, but who is Denise really? "A lot of people have an impression of me being wild and crazy," Denise explains in testimonial, the topic turning to her marriage to Charlie Sheen (as it's wont to do).
"Charlie was sober when we got married," she says. "We were not this swinging couple that might assume." She was pregnant with her younger daughter when things became "very dark and very toxic." She filed for divorce while six months pregnant and admits that she "did whatever [she] could to hide Charlie's behavior."
Her castmates can't seem to scratch the surface of Denise's multitudes, though, as Kyle and now Erika are having trouble reconciling her "holier than thou" attitude with the chill Denise of yester season. "Is this the real her and the other one wasn't?" Kyle asks. "I'm just confused."
Erika's BFF/on-call astronomer is the only one who has Denise figured out, reading in the stars that she still has the most to reveal. "You are the type that if someone does break your trust -- because trust matters so much to you -- you will still keep a good face, but inside, you may be calculating and conspiring on your own on how you're going to deal with it and take your time to even the score." As of now, this mostly seems to only pertain to Kyle. (See also: Last week.)
EPISODE 5: "Let the Mouse Go!"
It's here: "Bravo! Bravo! F**king Bravo!" Except...when we eventually get to that dinner, Bravo never actually uses the soundbite. And turns out it has nothing to do with Brandi or Charlie or anything we'd expected. It's about her new feud with Kyle.
Denise's mounting frustrations with Kyle stem from the pizza party, with Denise upset about both the sex talk and Kyle's tantrum. And it only gets worse anytime one of the other ladies attempts to explain away why Kyle may be feeling a certain way.
"I am filming in Los Angeles, I got an ex-husband I'm dealing with, I got a kid with special needs, I gotta pay the bills. Bitch, we all have a lot going on," Denise claps back. "It's not an excuse to be an asshole."
By the time they all wind up at dinner together and the topic of "fake ass b***hes" rears its ugly head again, Denise has had it with Kyle. Who cares if she wears glam from time to time? "I am f**king Denise Richards, Kyle," she says in testimony. "I don't think these bitches know I've been on, like, every f**king magazine cover you could possibly imagine -- that they would want to be on."
But mostly Denise doesn't feel like Kyle lets anyone else get a word in edgewise. And as they go back and forth, that's when Denise says, "I'm not f**king doing this." (Denise explains to ET why she broke the fourth wall here.)
EPISODE 4: "All's Fair in Glam and War"
Another week, another dinner party. Denise is hosting a pizza and sundae bar party with a decorative diamond theme, which Kyle says she's "confused" by. "This is not the Denise that I've known," Kyle quips. "New house, who dis?"
That seems shady of Kyle, except at the dinner table it's new Denise, who dis? When the topic turns to never having done "the lesbian thing"(???), Denise quickly protests, "Wait, you guys! My kids are over there..." And when Erika and Garcelle start sharing stories about threesomes past, Denise cries, "Oh my god, I wish my kids weren't here."
"There might be some conversations that are very adult," Denise steps away to warn the kids' table, then explains in testimony, "I'm a very open, sexual person, but that doesn't mean that I want my kids hearing this kind of stuff."
That's perfectly understandable, but slightly confusing, considering, not 30 seconds earlier, Denise announced -- yet again -- of Aaron, "He's still got a big penis and big muscles, so it's all good."
EPISODE 3: "First Impressions, True Confessions"
You've seen the dinner party from Hell. This week, we get what my colleague Brice calls the dinner party from outer space -- and Aaron and Denise really are reporting live from another planet.
"I have people following me all the time," Aaron announces during a dinner at Kyle's home, and we come to find out he means Big Pharma? Who is tailing him because of what he knows about atoms and electromagnetic spectrum frequencies?? And cancer is our best friend???
"Aaron has a job where people get tremendous results. And sometimes certain organizations don't like to see those results, because they make a lot of money otherwise," Denise explains in testimony. "And there's times we're followed."
Understandably, the other women's reaction is, ".....what?" "You can't talk about this anymore this right now, anymore," Denise says, not because it is crazú but for safety reasons. We also learn she is allergic to garlic.
EPISODE 2: "To Live and Text in Beverly Hills"
Much of Denise's plot in 10x02 revolves around a femoral hernia surgery, but she does debrief husband Aaron on Charlie calling her a coward and explains, in testimonial, "I'm not going after child support... He's the one that filed saying he didn't want to pay me at all, even though he hasn't paid me for quite some time now."
We're told a hearing has been set for November. "But I do not want to go through all that, I just don't," Denise admits, saying she is worried about what depositions might dig up about Charlie. "That's something the girls are going to be able to hear."
"There's a lot that the kids don't know about their dad, and I want to keep it that way," she tells us. "I want him to be part of their lives, because I met a lot of the women that Charlie entertained. A lot of them had father–daughter issues, and I do not want that to be our girls."
EPISODE 1: "The Crown Isn't So Heavy"
The premiere is notable, as far as Denise goes, for two reasons: First, Teddi brings up the fact that Charlie responded publicly to her legal filing. "D and her legal posse traffic only in fiction," the statement reads. "She's behaving like a coward and the truth will prevail."
"He called me a coward?" Denise replies. "I've been called worse by him, actually. That's tame."
Moments later, however, she admits to being "fired up" about it, claiming Charlie hasn't paid child support in a year but she didn't want to take him to court because it's "such a toxic road." And when Erika offers the services of her husband, noted Erin Brockovich lawyer Tom "Mr. Girardi" Girardi, Denise brushes her off. "I appreciate the f**king advice. But if anyone knows Charlie, it's me, and I know how to handle it," she says. "I'm not even going to show up to that court date."
And then the final minutes, which begin with Kyle saying, "It's actually hard to even imagine how terrible things would soon become." We're told Denise quit filming in December and are shown clips of her attempting to shut down conversations ("Bravo, Bravo! F**king Bravo!") and ultimately walking off.
But the very last shot shows a smirking Denise, sitting back down to film a confessional as a producer asks, "So Denise, you ready to talk about this?"
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
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