Denise Richards Was ‘Upset’ with Ex Charlie Sheen for Publicly Sharing His HIV Diagnosis Without Letting Her Tell Their Daughters First

Denise Richards was “upset” with her ex-husband Charlie Sheen when he publicly shared his HIV diagnosis.

On the latest episode of Whine Down with Jana Kramer, the actress, 54, opened up to host Jana Kramer about Sheen coming forward with his medical condition without giving her a warning so she could tell their daughters.

The One Tree Hill alum, 41, asked Richards if she and Sheen ever had a candid conversation with their kids about their lives and past controversies before they could find out via the internet. Richards said, “No. I did not because the girls weren’t ones to Google us,” but added that Sheen was involved in “a lot of public stuff.”

“It’s hard,” the Wild Things actress continued. “There were things that I would tell them, ‘You might hear something at school. If you have any questions, please come to me.’ “

Richards added that she felt “kind of upset” with Sheen when he revealed his HIV status on the Today show in 2015. Although she recognized that he “had to because the tabloids found out.”

“But I wish he gave me a heads up, like, ‘Hey, I’m doing it today.’ You know? Because it was everywhere,” Richards said. She added that she picked up her daughters early from school to avoid them finding out from their peers.

“I had to have a conversation about that,” she said. “And it was kind of hard to explain to them what it was. That was the only time … There’s been a few things that I’ve had to have conversations with. But for the most part, I really try to shelter them from a lot of stuff.”

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The former couple share two daughters together. They welcomed their daughter Sami, 21, in 2004, and Lola, 19, in 2005. Richards is also mom to Eloise, 13, whom she welcomed via adoption in 2011.

When Sheen went public with his health battle in a bombshell interview with former news personality Matt Lauer, he said, “I’m here to admit that I am in fact HIV-positive and I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful stories that I am threatening the health of others, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

At the time, the Two and a Half Men star said he was diagnosed about four years prior after he suffered from “crushing headaches and insane migraines and sweating the bed, completely drenched two to three nights in a row.”

Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Richards spoke about her co-parenting dynamic with Sheen, saying they parented differently and don’t have a friendship.

“Truthfully, it wasn’t co-parenting. I parent my way. He parents his way, and there was no co-parenting,” she explained. “I have kids with him, and I’m not really — I’m friendly with Charlie, but I wish we were friends and that we could talk all the time and be able to be there really for each other with our girls. But that’s just not the relationship we have. Maybe one day. But, I mean right now, there’s nothing. There’s no discord between he and I, which is great.”