Denise Richards’ estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, was accused of hitting her hard enough to cause a black eye, according to a family member’s explosive testimony.

Phypers’ cousin, Kathleen McAllister, backed Richards’ allegations of domestic abuse against her ex during virtual testimony on Monday as part of a hearing where Richards seeks to make her temporary restraining order against Phypers permanent, reports People.

The exes were seen together in court in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning as they continue to war over money while trying to sort their divorce.

The Daily Mail has contact representatives for Phypers and Richards to request comment, but neither has yet responded. 

Phypers has previously denied all of Richards’ earlier abuse allegations. 

‘I witnessed Aaron strike Denise, which immediately resulted in a severe black eye,’ McAllister claimed in her testimony regarding a January 17, 2022 incident. ‘I remain in shock to this day.’

‘[Denise] was in shock; I was in shock,’ she continued, reportedly illustrating how Phypers, 53, allegedly struck Richards, 54, with the palm of his hand.

McAllister previously had close contact with her cousin, as she worked as a holistic energy practitioner at his wellness clinic in Malibu from early 2017 until leaving his office in May of 2022, just months after she allegedly witnessed Phypers assaulting Richards.

She claimed the two had been engaged in an argument just before the alleged attack, which was worsened because ‘there was alcohol mixed in.’

Phypers was allegedly incensed because he believed that his then-wife had installed ‘listening devices’ in his office to spy on him.

‘[It was an] evening of chaos and arguing [that] kept escalating,’ McAllister said. 

Phypers’ cousin also described other ‘horrific’ incidents of violence, including one in which he allegedly ‘pinned [Denise] against the concrete wall where his truck was parked at the office.’ 

‘He was choking her and her head slammed against the [wall] and caused a concussion,’ McAllister claimed in her testimony. ‘She was just really upset, in pain, disoriented. [I was] concerned she could have died.’

Elsewhere in her testimony, she claimed to have heard Phypers threaten to kill Richards ‘several times.’ 

McAllister claimed she was also a victim of Phypers’ alleged death threats. When she was asked if she feared that he would kill Richards, she responded, ‘We both were. He threatened to kill us.’

‘He just would be raging and threatening that if we told anybody, he’d kill us all,’ she continued. ‘As abuse escalated through the years, he exploited our empathy.’

McAllister also recalled an altercation that occurred sometime between the black eye fight and her departure from Phypers’ office in May 2022.

She recalled hearing a noise like ‘thrashing’ in a bathroom at the office, and she later saw that Richards had an ‘injury on her head from [Aaron] slamming her head on the toilet paper rack in the bathroom.’

In an earlier incident that she dated to March 2021, Richards allegedly hid in the office’s bathroom to get away from her husband. 

‘Aaron was terrorizing her, and she was looking for support,’ she said. ‘I was in my office, and she was texting from the bathroom.’

According to McAllister, Phypers’ alleged abuse of Richard began ‘escalating’ from January through May 2022, and their disagreements often devolved into ‘yelling and arguing’ during that period. 

She also claimed that ‘anyone would refer to [Phypers] as an alcoholic’ during that period, alleging that the alcohol made his temper even worse.

Richards was seen arriving at court in a purple leather minidress with tall black heels while accompanied by a bodyguard.

Phypers wore a navy sport coat over a pale blue dress shirt and matching tie with pale-gray jeans and brown lace-up shoes as he carried a nylon brief case and wore black sunglasses. They were not pictured together, but had to be in the same courtroom. 

The situation between the exes could not be any more strained.

The 53-year-old wellness expert has asked the 54-year-old Wild Things actress for $150,000 to pay back rent and his lawyers, as he is in a financial pickle, according to a Thursday report from TMZ.

Phypers told a judge overseeing their divorce proceedings that he has to come up with the money quickly, or else he and his family will be rendered homeless.

The Canada native closed his wellness business Quantum 360 Club a year ago and has not been able to find employment since, he has maintained.

Richards did not take the request well as she soon after she filed a response to the judge that she did not want to give her former husband any money. 

Phypers filed for divorce from Richards on July 7, 2025, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ and listing their date of separation as July 4, 2025. The couple had been married for six years. 

Daily Mail has reached out to a rep for Richards to comment but did not immediately hear back.

Phypers rep told Daily Mail: ‘Phypers who owns and has copyrights to all the content of Denise Richards OnlyFans account bringing in $250,000 month, has had zero dollars for basic living expenses let alone any ability to hire legal representation for a fair trial. 

‘Richards is attempting to render Aaron homeless.’

Last month Phypers accused Richards of being the ‘abusive’ one in their relationship.

On September 15 Phypers filed a response to her previous claims of domestic violence – which were made in a restraining order in July as she alleged her 52-year-old partner ‘repeatedly abused’ her during their six-year marriage.

According to court documents obtained by People magazine, he has refuted her claims and denied the allegations.

He said in the documents: ‘There is no need for such orders, as I have not abused her and will not abuse her.’

He also alleges that his ex has been ‘frequently’ phoning and messages him and his father.

He claimed: ‘As well as asking other family and friends to ask me to call her so often that it should be considered harassment, demonstrating that she is not afraid of me and that she is the aggressive one.’

Phypers has also claimed the actress has ‘attacked’ and ‘harassed’ him ‘many times.’

Elsewhere in the documents, he referenced an alleged incident on August 3, saying: ‘She barged aggressively and forcefully into other family members’ living spaces, including my brother’s room (which he recorded), violating his privacy rights and looking through his personal property.

‘Denise violently smashed my cell phone, placed it in a trash can buried under bags of trash, and then lied about, claiming she had not taken my phone.’

He has argued against paying expenses caused by the alleged abuse, and insisted he shouldn’t pay spousal support.

She has prevented me from earning income, so she is the only one with income,’ he said. ‘She should support me.’

The couple married in 2018 in a beachfront ceremony that aired on Bravo during The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Phypers, who filed for divorce in July following what has been described as an explosive argument, previously described her allegations of abuse as ‘bogus’.He said over the summer: ‘She’s upset. I publicly dumped her to the world, and she’s mad, so how does she retaliate? File a bogus abuse claim.’