Denise Richards, 48, has been a welcome addition to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills by both the cast and fans — but her insanely busy schedule is making it tough to film! “Denise Richards has actually been MIA from filming [Real Housewives] a lot just because she’s so busy filming her other projects,” a source close to the star spilled to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “She really loves doing Housewives but being an actress is her first priority when it comes to her career and [RHOBH] has opened even more doors for her.”
In addition to being a full-time Housewife, Denise joined the cast of daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful as troublemaker Shauna Fulton in March. Unlike shooting movies or primetime shows, soap opera schedules can be intense due to the sheer volume of content, resulting in long days and unpredictable wrap times. As if two shows isn’t enough, Denise has a slew of other scripted series and TV movies coming down the pipeline, including films Switched and The Secret Lives of Cheerleaders and the sci-fi series FraXtur. “She’s so busy and has so many different projects going on that she accidentally gets her projects mixed up,” the insider added — and with a schedule like this, we can totally see why!
Denise has been acting professionally for nearly three decades, and quickly became a household name after her appearance in 1998’s Wild Things opposite Neve Campbell, now considered a cult classic. Reality shows, however, are an entirely different beast and that’s something that Denise is still getting used to. “She kind of treats RHOBH like a set and the ladies constantly have to remind her it’s real,” the source continued. As fans of the series know, RHOBH only shoots in locations’ like the casts’ homes or restaurants — not studios, like Denise would be used to for scripted shows and movies. “She’s barely filmed RHOBH so far this season and missed a few events just due to her own acting career which has picked up even more since she signed on for Housewives.”
In addition to a busy career, Denise has plenty to manage off-screen: she’s mom to three kids, including Sam, 15, and Lola, 14, with ex-husband Charlie Sheen, as well as adopted daughter Eloise Joni, 7. The Illinois native also tied-the-knot again, marrying actor Aaron Phypers in Sept. 2018. “Denise has also really been trying to focus on her family and her health, even recently recovering from a surgical procedure,” the source continued. “The [RHOBH] women love her and are hopeful that she’ll be at more events in the near future.” We hope so, too!