Denise Richards is opening up about the long-term consequences of a sexual assault.
On the season 3 premiere of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test on January 8, the 53-year-old actress and her fellow recruits were challenged to complete a helicopter extraction, which involved jumping from a boat onto a hovering helicopter and pushing themselves up to the cabin.
The challenge, modeled after the actual Army Special Forces selection process, prompted Richards to reflect on her past. She explained, “I really want to learn how to avoid being overwhelmed by fear. I’ve been in traumatic situations that were extremely terrifying for me. “I want to learn how to deal with those issues and become stronger.”
After she failed the challenge by being unable to lift herself to the helicopter’s cabin, the Directing Staff (DS) called her in for a discussion after noticing she had “a deer in the headlights kind of look” throughout the experience.
“It is hard. “I’m completely out of my comfort zone,” Richards said, before adding, “I’m not scared. “I am emotional right now.”
The DS mentioned that she “froze” during the exercise, to which the mother of three replied, “Yes, I’m completely overcome by certain fearful situations, and I want to learn how to stay calm and do something.”
Richards went on to explain her motivation for doing the show, saying, “Part of the reason I wanted to do this course is I’ve been in situations where I freeze and can’t function, I can’t even speak to protect myself.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, who has daughters Sami (20), Lola (19), and Eloise (13), then shared a traumatic experience with her husband Aaron Phypers.
“We were driving.” “He wanted to take me to a set,” she explained. “He didn’t want me to go alone, thank God, and we got shot at in his truck, and I sat on the floor and literally peed. I was very scared… “I froze.
“The first time I ever experienced that I was 15 and I noticed a man following me,” she kept going. “He came up from behind me, put his hand around my mouth, grabbed my vagina, and started dragging me, and I froze, like I couldn’t even scream for help.”
After admitting that she had only told her husband about the sexual assault, Richards burst into tears and said, “It’s so scary to be in that situation, you know, at that age, and so vulnerable. And I have three daughters, and I hope they never have to go through that. Also, if something, God forbid, happens to be powerful enough.”
In a confessional, Richards discussed how she has yet to move on from the sexual assault. “I think I haven’t addressed a lot of what I’ve been through, which is terrifying. “I don’t know if I’d be able to overcome my past,” she said.
In the second episode, Richards realized the Fox bootcamp-style reality series had become too much for her after bungee jumping off a 130-foot-tall bridge and attempting a surf immersion challenge (in which they dunk themselves repeatedly underwater while linking arms).
Richards ripped off her arm band and quit while complaining of back pain that left her “barely” able to walk. “I really want to have the entire experience, but the older I get, I don’t know if I’m physically capable of doing it,” she told me.
Fox airs Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
