Denise Richards has broken her silence on the death of her ex-boyfriend and close friend Patrick Muldoon.
“This is so hard for me to put into words. I am deeply heartbroken & devastated losing you. You were my best friend & my family,” Richards, 55, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, April 21. “We met in our first acting class, I was 19 never had an acting job and you were 21 a student at USC doing a recurring role on Who’s the Boss.”
The actress went on to celebrate their friendship, which lasted more than 30 years up until Muldoon’s death.
“The friendship, love, support, respect & loyalty we had was unconditional and rare. You lit up every room you walked into. You are larger than life & everyone was drawn to you,” she continued in her tribute. “So talented & most underrated actor. And most humble. Everything you did was infectious. Your laugh, your kindness, your wit, your strength, your loyalty, your passion and your zest for life. We’ve been each other’s rock.”
Richards praised Muldoon for having “my back and protect[ing] me more than anyone.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you here. You’re my voice of reason & pillar of strength,” she continued. “Especially during this last year of pain & heartache. And now I need you more than ever, for this pain and heartache losing you. Schweetbabe we’ve had those conversations. We thought we’d live forever or at least into our 90’s. Schweetbabe I will be looking for those signs. I need to know you’re still here with me. I love you so much & miss you dearly schweetbabe 💔🙏🪽.”
Deadline reported on Sunday, April 19, that Muldoon died at age 57 following a heart attack. The actor’s manager subsequently confirmed his death to Variety.
Elisabeth Costa de Beauregard Segel, president of global sales and distribution at Muldoon’s company, Storyboard Media, told Luxury Handbag Shopping, “Heaven got another angel far too soon,” calling Muldoon “the most amazing person.”
In a statement to Deadline, Muldoon’s friends described him as “endlessly generous — with his poetry, his humor and his unmistakable presence,” adding that he “loved animals and people alike, gave unforgettable hugs and possessed a rare quality of making others feel safe and seen.”
“Stylish, charismatic and full of life, he embraced each day with a full-tilt, rock ’n’ roll spirit,” the statement continued.
Muldoon met Richards in 1997 while filming Starship Troopers, which was released the following year. The pair began dating in 1998, but they were broken up for good by 2000.
“We were on and off for quite a few years,” Richards said of her romance with Muldoon during a 2019 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, adding that they continued to call each other “schweet babe” even after their breakup.
Muldoon and Richards remained close friends over the years and costarred for the second time in the 2015 TV movie A Christmas Reunion. The Days of Our Lives alum later made an appearance on Denise Richards & Her Wild Things in March 2025 when he invited Richards to star in one of his music videos. The exes’ dynamic on the show raised alarm bells for Richards’ daughter Sami Sheen, who wondered about the nature of their relationship.
“He’s very flirty with her, I’m not gonna lie,” Sheen, 21, said on her mom’s reality show. “I don’t want to get him in trouble, but I feel like he might still have feelings for my mom. Just an idea.”
Muldoon later shut down the speculation during an October 2025 appearance on Tori Spelling’s iHeartRadio“MisSpelling” podcast.
“We dated on and off in the ’90s, but since then, it’s been just friendship,” he said at the time, confirming that he was in a relationship. (Muldoon was dating producer Miriam Rothbart at the time of his death. The pair’s romance began in 2023.)
Muldoon and Richards’ friendship was briefly put on pause during the latter’s marriage to Charlie Sheen, which lasted from 2002 to 2006.
“I did not speak to Pat when I was married to Charlie,” Richards said on Denise Richards & Her Wild Things in March 2025. “And it was hard, because I didn’t want to lose him as a friend. But toward the end of the marriage, I talked to him all the time about him.”
Richards later moved on with Aaron Phypers, who had no qualms about her friendship with Muldoon. (Richards and Phypers, 53, separated in July 2025 after more than six years of marriage and are currently in the midst of a messy divorce.)
“I’m so grateful Aaron respects [her friendship with Muldoon] because Charlie, he had a hard time with my relationship with Pat,” Richards said on her show.
