Denise Richards Recalls Charlie Sheen Calling Daughters from Jail on Christmas After Domestic Violence Arrest

Richards was a guest on the latest episode of the Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson podcast, where she recalled one Christmas where her ex ended up in jail.

Sheen was arrested in 2009 on Christmas Day after his then-wife Brooke Mueller accused him of assault. He later pleaded guilty to the charges and spent 30 days in jail.

Richards, who shares daughters Sami, 21, and Lola, 19, with the Two and a Half Men alum, said at the time that she chose not to clue her kids into the situation.

"He was arrested on Christmas and he called me from jail to say 'Merry Christmas' to the girls," Richards shared. "And they were busy playing with their toys. They're like, 'We'll talk to Dad later.' I go, 'I think Dad's gonna be a little busy later.'"

"I didn't say, 'Your dad just got f--king arrested and he's in jail so come say "Merry Christmas" right now,'" she added.

That's just one of the times that Richards said she attempted to keep Sheen's struggles from their daughters.

"If I was at a school performance and he was supposed to show up and I get a call, 'Something happened sideways, hospital, whatever.' I'm not going to tell the kids the truth," Richards said. "I lied and I said, 'Dad had to work.' Some of the things were so outrageously bad where I'm like, 'I can't say that.'"

But making the decision to shelter the girls from their dad's decisions is something Richards said still impacts her to this day.

"I actually sheltered the kids almost to a point of where now, as they're getting older, they're discovering things and they were at first getting upset with me, like, 'Why didn't you tell me this?'" she shared.

The mother of three's main goal, however, was always to "protect their relationship" with Sheen.

"There was a time I didn't know if he was gonna live, and I didn't want the girls to ever get to know their dad [from] what they would read," Richards explained. "I wanted it to be their experience and their relationship. And I also didn't want to put on them my feelings because that's not fair to them and their relationship with him."

Richards and Sheen married in 2002. Richards filed for divorce in 2005 when she was six months pregnant with Lola. The divorce was finalized in 2006.

But even with the ups and downs she experienced with her ex, both during their time together and after, Richards said she still wanted the family to spend time together, so that the girls could have their own memories with their dad.

"I even told Charlie, 'I don't care if you're pissed at me, let's have dinner with the girls. Just f---king suck it up,'" she recalled. “Because they're our daughters, they don't deserve to have their family split. Now your other ex wife and your kid, you know what I mean? Like, let's all keep it harmonious as much as possible. So that's why still to this day, I still try to do it."

As for the current status of her relationship with her ex, Richards gave viewers a look at their dynamic on last week's episode of her show, which saw Sheen having dinner with Richards and their daughter Lola. Sami did not attend.

"The girls have been through a lot with their dad, it has been up and down," Richards said in the episode, with Lola calling it "such a blessing" she and her father are "co close" right now.

In her own confessional, Sami said she "would rather do anything else" than meet with her dad for dinner.

"Me and my dad haven't really spoken much in the past 5 months now. It goes in very big chunks with him," she added. "For the first 13 years of my life it was really bad. Then we were okay for a couple years and now it's just, like, okay ..."

Lola said things between her and Sheen have "definitely improved," however, saying the two get bi-weekly pedicures together.

"I understand why Sami feels the way she does," Richards said. "It hasn't always been perfect with he and Lola, either. I hope he does recognize that because he's missing out."

Sami agreed with that, adding, "He is missing out."

The finale of Denise Richards & Her Wild Things airs next Tuesday on Bravo.