Denise Richards has a special friend in Kathy Hilton.
The actress, 54, met up with Kathy, 66, for lunch in the March 18 episode of Denise Richards & Her Wild Things, revealing that the two have been friends for “quite a few years.” As Denise continues to navigate the tension between her oldest daughters, she explained that she has found comfort in confiding in Kathy when it comes to motherhood.
“Sami and Lola are not in a great place, so it’s hard,” Denise said of her 20 and 19-year-olds. “They could not be more different.”
“They’re very opposite,” Kathy agreed. “There’s always those little peaks and valleys and peaks and valleys.”
Reflecting on those ups and downs, Denise said that understanding Kathy’s similar experiences helped her through difficult moments.
“You know I went through a tough time with Sami when she was a teenager where she was out of control,” Denise said. “I told her, ‘I can’t have you come and go whenever you want. I can’t have it affect your other sisters.’ It was just so hard.”
“When I saw the stuff that you were going through, it made me realize, ‘Wow, I wonder if Sami sees it differently,’” she added, referring to Paris’ 2020 revelation that she was abused in boarding school as a child.
“Well I think Paris realizes it because she was totally out of control,” said Kathy, who is also mom to Nicky, Barron and Conrad Hilton. “There’d be days where she’d be gone, skipping school. She was a runner. She ran from I don’t know how many schools. It’s very scary.”
Once Paris, now 44, opened up about her trauma, Kathy noted that she was able to cope in healthier ways.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” she gushed. “Look what she’s done with her life. As bad as it was, she’s taken her pain and turned it into helping, into a purpose.”
Denise married her ex Charlie Sheen in 2002 and welcomed Sami in 2004. In 2005, she filed for divorce while six months pregnant with their second daughter Lola. As they grew up, Denise previously explained that she tried to protect her children from public chatter about their parents, but she recognized that they weren’t living a normal life.
“It’s not easy raising kids with a famous last name,” she admitted in her confessional. “One of the things that’s great about talking to Kathy Hilton is, I’m sure my daughters feel extra pressure because their last name is Sheen, and everyone knows the Hilton name. It’s different than talking to someone who’s never been through this.”
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Denise Richards & Her Wild Things airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
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