Charlie and Denise to divorce

Wow, I go out to dinner and come home to find that the prolific Charlie and Denise are getting divorced!  There were five emails waiting for me when I got home and another four while I was writing this!

After nearly three years of marriage, Denise Richards filed for divorce from her Charlie Sheen, citing irreconcilable differences, according to court papers filed Wednesday.  This news is extremely shocking since Denise is six months pregnant with their second child.  Daughter Sam will be a year old next week.  Denise wants custody of the children and is seeking spousal support payments from Sheen.

Read the divorce papers.

For more info, Access Hollywood, Yahoo!.

Thanks to Tena, Lika, Corrie, Lucy, Mercedes, Katie, Kerry, Mandavac and Lisa.

Note: I’m closing the comments because I think everyone’s said all there is to say.

Comments

Kristie on March 2nd, 2005

OMG I can’t believe they are getting a divorce. They seemed so happy. Shes 6 mos pg with his second baby. something must have been right.

Heather on March 2nd, 2005

I am really shocked at this! I think something had to happen to cause this, especially since she wants sole custody as well, and not joint. I feel for her right now, 6 months pregnant and getting a divorce, such a hard thing to go through especially while you’re pregnant.

Sarah on March 2nd, 2005

Well, I wonder if this explains the perma-sour expression she always has…
I feel very sorry for her children, especially the one she is still carrying. I really don’t think a marriage can go from wonderful to awful in six months, if it is really “irreconcilable differences”. And, if it was something more, I hope everything works out for her.
This solidifies my opinions on celebrity-hood. Relationships go bad more often than not. Fame and everything surrounding it seems to be a curse.

Alison on March 2nd, 2005

I’ll bet he either fell off the wagon or cheated on her. Obviously, something huge had to have happened to leave your hubby while six months preggers!

- on March 2nd, 2005

I am surprised too. Whatever he did it must be really bad. I feel bad for Denise and the children.

Ashley on March 2nd, 2005

That’s so sad! I thought they were one celeb couple who were really going to make it! But then again, I thought the same about Brad and Jen too! Poor Denise, Sam, and Baby #2. I hope everything works out well for them.

Anne on March 2nd, 2005

Wow. I’m in shock!

I second the thought that he really must have done something bad (cheated on her, perhaps??) to cause her to file for divorce while being 6 months pregnant and with a one year old.

They both seem pretty screwed up to be honest but I had hoped that they had grown up and matured. How sad for the babies.

Arlene on March 2nd, 2005

OMG! I can’t belive my eyes they looked so happy I wonder what happened? But like everyone has said it had to have been something big.

Kay on March 2nd, 2005

OH. MY. GOD. She looked so glowing and happy at the Golden Globes, and I was so happy to hear about baby # 2. I can’t believe it. I feel terribly sorry for her to be pregnant and in such a situation, but I’m sure her friends and family will help her through this terrible time. I can’t imagine what made them go from happily expecting to sour divorce. So unfortunate.

Jane on March 2nd, 2005

Wow, this is weird. They always seemed pretty happy together and looked so cute in Redbook magazine! I thought Charlie had pulled himself together for Denise and for Sam!

Sarah, CBB Editor on March 2nd, 2005

I can’t believe it! I hope Us or People does a story this week.

Sarah on March 2nd, 2005

I’m really surprised, like the rest of you. So sad…

Lucy on March 2nd, 2005

SHE filed for divorce. SHE wants sole custody of the children. SHE took the action. This all leads one to believe that her husband did something she could not live with.

crazy on March 2nd, 2005

Oh God thats awful. Something seriously bad must of happened for her to take such drastic measures.

Patty on March 2nd, 2005

Why does everyone assume he did something wrong? So she filed for divorce? So what? Maybe she’s got someone else on the side? I’m not saying that’s true, but we have no information. We can’t just assume it was him. That’s a bit unfair.

Most women would want sole custody of a toddler and a newborn anyhow.

Magda on March 3rd, 2005

Yah. A woman wouldnt file for divorce at 6 months pregnant, and ask for sole custody because of nothing. Something HUGE must of happened. Thats so sad…

Lainie on March 3rd, 2005

I guess he cheated on her and she overreacted…

anon on March 3rd, 2005

Considering Charlie’s past, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that he may have cheated on Denise, and/or fallen off the wagon.

Too bad. They looked genuinely happy every time I saw a pic of them, and little Sam is just a doll.

TexasMommy on March 3rd, 2005

What a major bummer!!! I loved them together and was hoping that they would make it work. Too bad for them.

Magda on March 3rd, 2005

Charlie has a bad history. But have u guys thought of this: IF he did cheat…he still has a right to custody. He must of done something that she thought would endanger the kids. I dunno. That’s what I think. Its just a thought. A guy who cheats STILL has a right to seeing his children. He did have a bad past tho..He’s done drugs and accidentally shot His then girlfriend Kelly Preston. Its his history..but history catches up to you…we have no way of knowing

pingpong on March 3rd, 2005

Oh no! That’s so sad.

I think people should stop speculating (bordering on slandering) until more details are available. It’s not productive. This is already a terrible situation.

Canita on March 3rd, 2005

That is too bad….poor little Sam and #2.

Kildine on March 3rd, 2005

Oh my god ! I can’t believe it .. it’s just too sad, for her, for their children …
And they were already talking about baby #3 !

Yonni on March 3rd, 2005

Well hopefully she is okay. I know it must be tough to go through all those emotions, and all this stress while pregnant. He must not be in any way a danger to the children if she is allowing him visitation. She would have had a protection order if he was violent. Also, just because she is 6 months pregnant doesn’t mean there were not already problems. They could have already been having problems, and one night of passion lead them to conceive another child. We won’t know until they say something.

mitchell on March 3rd, 2005

Why isn’t it filed as Charlie Estevez since that is his legal name?

meghan on March 3rd, 2005

didn’t both charlie and martin sheen legally change their names?
anyway – totally sad. i thought they were really cute. i agree that we shouldn’t speculate – although it is difficult to not!

Tena on March 3rd, 2005

Yep, he and his dad had it legally changed. As a useless tidbit it was Carlos Irwin Estevez not Charlie Estevez. My husband says I am a plethora of useless information.

Really sad. I feel sorry for the whole family. A breakup at a time like this must be difficult for Denise and Charlie.

Judy on March 3rd, 2005

This is really sad. I agree with others that something terrible must have happened for her to file for divorce at this time. I don’t believe that she cheated on him. When you are six months pregnant the last thing you want is to find another man.

There is a small mention of this on People Online. Denise’s agent confirmed that she had filed for divorce but said that it was a private matter.

Sabrina on March 3rd, 2005

Wow, well blow me down OLIVE!

That’s a big shock, but I agree with her facial expressions… she seems to be not happy around Charlie. I say good going for Denise to leave him. It must be hard, but if there is a driving force I am glad that she didnt stay with him in hopes that a “Baby would fix it”. Good for her.,

Risa W on March 3rd, 2005

My first thought was Charlie fell off the wagon — which probably led him back to the strip clubs and porn stars. I really didn’t expect him to stay clean. Remember, his first marriage came when he was “born again” and his newfound faith was over in a flash.

ashley on March 3rd, 2005

I agree completely with Risa. How depressing.

Jennifer on March 3rd, 2005

I heard on the radio this morning that he did in fact use cocaine again. But that wasn’t what made her file for divorce. He apparantly cheated more than once. I was shocked. It seemed he had found someone he would stay faithful to, but I guess not. I just feel sorry for their children. You know, Magda, she could have just filed for custody of the children because she was angry. I’m sure he will have joint custody of their children with her. I mean, you’re right, if he is not endangering their children, he has a right to custody as well as Denise.

Judy on March 3rd, 2005

Maybe Charlie doesn’t want custody right now. Sam is still a baby. I just can’t see Charlie wanting custody of two *babies.* It makes more sense for them to be with their mother (Denise) and give Charlie ample visitation. It seems to me that shared custody would be more appropriate when they are a little older.

Kayla on March 3rd, 2005

Somethine pretty bad must have happened for her to want a divorce RIGHT NOW. Given that she’s close to popping her second baby out, people don’t generally choose that time to file for divorce. It’s strange. I wonder if we’ll ever hear the true reasons for it…. good luck to Denise with the second baby, I’m sure it will be as gorgeous as Sam!

Rye on March 3rd, 2005

Someone above mentioned something like, “He probably cheated and Denise just over-reacted” and I think that is just a ridiculously shallow comment. In my opinion, if someone cheats on me or anyone else, they really didn’t love the person they were cheating on 100%. There are no second chances in most cases of cheating, especially in Charlie’s case where I am guessing it was because of his well known “sex addiction”. Someone with a sex addiction probably shouldn’t get married unless there spouse is also crazily obsessed with sex, but either way, I don’t think it’s overreacting to get divorced if one spouse cheats.

Anne on March 3rd, 2005

Agreed, Rye.

Who knows what kind of agreement they had regarding cheating. Maybe Denise stipulated that if he did cheat she’d leave. Honestly, if I had an infant and was 6 months pregnant and my spouse cheated on me I’d be out the door, too.

I say good for Denise for not allowing herself to be treated any less then she deserves to be treated.

I will say that he is probably completely humiliated because all of Hollywood (his family, friends, peers, co-workers,etc.) as well as all his fans will know what a louse he is.

Of course, this is all assuming that he *did* cheat!

Lyssa on March 3rd, 2005

Rye, I think that person meant that Denise overreacted in seeking sole custody of the kids, not in seeking a divorce.

Lyssa on March 3rd, 2005

Does anyone know the sex of baby #2?

tink1217 on March 3rd, 2005

Thats so sad!! I thought they would make it. I know how tough it is to be pregnant and going through a divorce. I was 6 mo preggo and had a 15 month old when I found out my husband had been sleeping around and it was very tough! I feel for Denise.

havana on March 3rd, 2005

When they were first married, i read that Denise said she didnt want to know about any of the things he did in his past as it had nothing to do with her. When i read that i thought she may have been wrong as especially with a bit of an age gap and someone as notorious as him – she should have known fully what she was getting into, then made the decision to stick with it or not.
Anyone remeber when charlie accidentally shot kelly preston when they were engaged? Some bizzarre things have happened in his life…
Anyway, hopefully she will move on and be happy.

tina on March 3rd, 2005

I heard on the radio (like you can believe it…) that she went to surprise him in Vegas and actually caught him in the act with another woman.

Lainie on March 3rd, 2005

That was me, I wrote that “overreacting-thing”
I thought, if he only cheated once, you don´t have to run to your lawyer immediately and file for divorce. What about seperation and trying to work things out first?
But on second thoughts, maybe it wasn´t the first time, maybe he already had his second chance.
But the thing that she wants sole custody makes clear that she is absolutely pissed.

Lyssa on March 3rd, 2005

In my book it’s once a cheater, always a cheater. It’s the ultimate betrayal. No second chances.

lindsay on March 3rd, 2005

I would definately leave my husband if he cheated on me. I don’t know, I guess for me that is just the one unforgivable.

Rye on March 3rd, 2005

I agree. Once a cheater ALWAYS a cheater. If you can’t commit to a relationship and stay solid in it without going behind your spouses back and having sex with someone else than you were obviously not meant to be married in the first place. Charlie has spoken of his sex addiction in the past and when I learned of his marriage, my first thought was, She’s either a sex addict too, or that relationship won’t last…and I was right! I feel bad for the kids most of all. Jeez, divorce is so freaking common now that I wonder why Americans even freak out about gays getting married…the sanctity of marriage was defiled years ago! LOL. This whole scenario is just sad and I feel extremely bad for Denise…That would be awful being 6 months pregnant and having to file for divorce.

Annette on March 3rd, 2005

I have to say this news shocked me more than the Aniston/Pitt split. It must’ve been something really bad if she filed for divorce being 6 months pregnant and with a 1 year old.

Mandavac on March 3rd, 2005

I remember hearing about this when they got engaged… looked it up under Denise Richards PreNup thru the internet last night.

February 17, 2002 – More on that prenup from the Globe. Apparently it was Martin Sheen that came up with the idea for his badboy son as a way to put his womanizing ways behind him. She’d get $2 million in a divorce and another $2 million if he cheats

Lainie on March 3rd, 2005

Just for example:
If you found out after 10 years of good marriage, your husband had a one night stand or a short affair or whatever three years ago, would you leave him? would you throw everything away?

April on March 3rd, 2005

Lainie, yes, I would leave my husband. If he were dumb enough to on cheat on me in the first place, he obviously doesn’t love me enough. If he didn’t tell me straight up, and waited 3 years, I’d be even MORE pissed. I’ve already told my husband, the only way for me to divorce him is if he hits me or cheats on me. Cheating to me is just the worst thing, besides abuse, of course. If you’re that tempted by another woman, you don’t need to be married. If you feel that much of an attraction to another woman, you don’t need to be married. It’s that simple. Call me old fashioned, but that’s the way I feel. I’d take him for everything he has too. LOL!

April on March 3rd, 2005

And, by the way, it wouldn’t be me throwing everything away. It would be his fault, because he already knew the way I felt.

Aimee on March 3rd, 2005

I think it’s terrible what has happened between them and I feel bad for Denise but most of all I feel bad for the children

Dianne on March 3rd, 2005

I’ll only add that I think Charlie Sheen is handsome and a good actor, but I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole! Meaning, I wouldn’t marry him.(He was in Heidi Fleiss little black book, remember?) He had too much of a past. Too bad for the lovely ladies in his life from his grown daughter, to his cute almost ex wife and his baby girl Sam and her sibling. Good luck to Denise! It’s going to be hard. My mom was left with a 6 yr old, an infant(me) and pregnant with my brother. Thank goodness for my grandmom.

Judy on March 3rd, 2005

People who cheat are disrespecting their partner and they are also disrespecting their marriage vows. IMO a marriage vow is a promise. Why should someone be given a second chance when they have already shown they can not keep the promise of their marriage?

Anna on March 3rd, 2005

I feel bad for Denise and the children but I think that she will be fine without Charlie! I know there are other strong mothers out there doing great without a man!I think that she is a smart women and a wonderful mother! Good Luck Denise!

pingpong on March 3rd, 2005

Laine, if a man cheats on his wife and she leaves him, it’s not HER who is throwing everything away, it’s HIM! He started throwing it away the moment he broke his marriage vows.

Lyssa on March 3rd, 2005

Lainie, I’m with April on this one. In your example, living a lie for three years is worse than the cheating. What kind of sicko could live with a guilty conscience for three years!?

Sarah, CBB Editor on March 3rd, 2005

They’ve released a small statement to Access Hollywood tonight:

“We are deeply saddened by the recent events and out of our love and concern for our daughter Sam, our unborn child and each other, we ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.”

Marisa on March 3rd, 2005

When my girlfriend was getting divorced, her shark of an attorney told her to file for sole custody because if granted it doesn’t mean the father doesn’t get to see the kids – it just means that he does not need to be consulted legally for decisions regarding the welfare of the child. For example- with joint custody the mother would have to consult him to move out of a certain radius, consult him about school matters, medical and so on. Usually the judge won’t grant it but it doesn’t hurt to petition for it. Why not? It’s less of a headache especially if he starts to use his decision making capabilities for nonsense just to drive the mother crazy.

Raincitygirl on March 4th, 2005

Personally, I think the lying and sneaking around is more of a betrayal than sexual infidelity alone. Not all couples practice or expect total monogamy. The strongest longterm marriage I know is a couple who’ve been married for nearly fifty years, and for the past thirty odd years, their marriage has been ‘open’. But this couple *talk* to each other. Now, I’ve never heard them discuss ground rules about their outside sexual partners, but from my observation of their day-to-day life, they talk a lot, they’re very good at communicating with each other, and they’re brutally honest with each other.

I had a boyfriend in the past who I suspected was cheating on me, but he assured me earnestly that he wasn’t and said I was being paranoid. He was convincing enough that I believed him. Then I found out I’d been right after all. Massive drama, breakup, big heartfelt pleas, etc etc. Eventually I took him back, stipulating that if he was attracted to another woman in the future and wanted to cheat, he should tell me. I couldn’t promise that I’d give him the green light, but if he found in the future that he genuinely wanted to be in a relationship with me and also pursue outside sexual relationships, I would see if we could negotiate something when the time came. He said it would never happen Six months later he started sneaking around again. Caught him, dumped him, reminded him I’d given him an opportunity to potentially have an outside fling as long as was honest about it. His response: “Well, I didn’t think you *meant* it.” Some guys are just dumb!

The point is, what hurt me most when he was unfaithful was the lying. Now, I may represent the minority point of view here, but I honestly believe infidelity isn’t always a marriage-breaker. It depends very much on the marriage, on the personalities of the people involved, and the conditions they’ve made. If Denise Richards, for example, made it a condition of getting married that he never cheat, then he knew in advance what risks he was running re: his marriage by cheating Now, personally, I wouldn’t have placed that type of condition on a guy with a history like his, because I’d figure he’d break it, but I also wouldn’t touch a guy with a history like his with a ten foot pole! And I sure as hell wouldn’t sleep with him without a condom (not so much for birth control as worry over potential STD’s. Come on, he slept with hookers and strippers).

But people fall in love, sometimes with people who come with a history, and they make commitments, and they generally expect each other to honour those commitments. Every individual has different breaking points, though, so what could be game over for one marriage could be a minor seismic event in another.

And incidentally, even if a couple did have an ‘arrangement’, I’d think it was pretty damn sleazy to have sex with another woman while your wife was pregnant with your future child. I mean, ick!

jessica on March 4th, 2005

wow, I totally disagree with the above comment.You can be married and happy with the same person for your whole life. I couldn’t imagine giving my husband a green light to sleep with someone else, or couldn’t imagine him giving me one. I really hope some people take their marriage vows a little more seriously. If you feel you need to cheat then don’t get married or have children!

Stina on March 4th, 2005

I see that most of the people talking about this think that maybe Charlie did something wrong. I know he has a bad past, and I know what he is capable of, but maybe they simply were not happy. A divorce does not always mean one person did something wrong. Maybe She just grew up and realized that she needs to move on. You never know is all I am saying. Just think that Charlie can be the devil, and he has feelings too. I am sure that he is not *happy* about this either. I just see most of you bagging on him. And we dont even know what happened!