Denise Richards, 50, wasn’t at the court hearing when a judge ruled that Charlie Sheen, 56, no longer had to pay her child support for their two daughters Sami, 17, and Lola, 16, but she is “shocked” about the outcome, according to one insider. The actress was reportedly out of town for work on Oct. 4, when the hearing was held, and feels like her ex-husband “used that to his advantage.”
“Charlie has pushed dates in court with Denise for years so she didn’t expect a ruling to happen, let alone when she was out of town on a work trip,” the insider EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “She was shocked to say the least and thinks Charlie used that to his advantage.”
The ruling came after it was reported that the former couple’s oldest daughter Sami had decided to move in with Charlie due to a disagreement “over her mother’s rules.” Meanwhile, their younger daughter Lola, reportedly splits time at both of her parents’ houses.
“Lola splits time between both Charlie and Denise’s homes but Denise has been the primary caretaker for the girls for years,” our insider added. “Denise is very saddened by all of this. She’s an incredible mother who loves her kids and would do anything in the world for them.”
“Charlie and Denise have had their issues over the years, but she didn’t expect this,” the source continued. “It’s below the belt in Denise’s eyes and making them turn on their mother which is the last thing she’d ever want. Charlie’s rules are very lax and Denise has a lot of structure and she wishes Charlie wouldn’t do this. Her kids are her entire world.”
Before their current situation, Denise and Charlie were married from 2002 until 2006. They often made headlines after their split due to rocky times between them but things seemed to be looking up in March when they appeared happily together in a photo that was taken at Sami’s 17th birthday dinner.
We’ve reached out to Charlie and Denise’s reps about this story but have yet to receive a response.