Denise Richards‘ plastic surgeon has shared shocking before and after photos of the actress’ full facelift to The Daily Mail.

The 55-year-old star’s surgeon, Ben Talei MD of Beverly Hills, did the work eight months ago.

And now The Daily Mail has learned that real reason she got the work done: her personal life was suffering and she wanted to do something nice for herself.

‘She is very happy that she made the move last year because she feels beautiful,’ a source told The Daily Mail.

‘It is a rare bright light in her life as she fights her estranged husband Aaron Phypers during their ugly divorce. The divorce has really taken a toll on her in so many ways, emotionally and financially.

‘She deserves to have a little joy in her life and her new face makes her very happy.’

Phypers filed for divorce from Richards in Los Angeles on July 7, 2025, after six years of marriage. In February, a judge ordered Richards to pay Phypers, $5,000 per month in temporary spousal support during their divorce.

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Denise Richards’ plastic surgeon has shared shocking before and after photos of the actress’ full facelift from eight months ago to The Daily Mail. The 55-year-old star’s surgeon is Ben Talei MD of Beverly Hills

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The actress glowed at LoveShackFancy’s A Sweetheart Soiree hosted by Rebecca Hessel Cohen and Kathy Hilton in Los Angeles on March 20

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In the before photo, the former Bond girl had heavier eyelids, wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes, and a downturned lip. In the after photo, she had lighter eyelids, less wrinkles and a more balances lip

Richards’ said her eldest daughters, however, were ‘not happy’ about her decision to undergo a facelift.

The Wild Things star recently revealed she underwent surgery last year to give her appearance boost but she’s now admitted Sami, 22, and Lola, 20, from her marriage to actor Charlie Sheen, tried to talk her out of it because they were convinced she was ‘too young’ to go under the knife.

Denise told Allure magazine: ‘My oldest daughters were not happy that I was doing it. But I think now they understand, and they see that I still look like me.

‘I think they were just worried, in general, of [me] having surgery. They were telling me I didn’t need it. I was too young.

‘I told them that this is something that I want to do, and you may not agree with my decision, but I just want your support. I understand that you feel the way you do, but please know that this is something that I want to do for me.’

The actress – who is also mother to youngest daughter Eloise who she adopted in 2011 – previously clashed with Sami over the content creator’s decision to get a nose job and the old feud bubbled to the surface once again after the actress opened up about her own surgery plans.

Denise explained: ‘I didn’t want [my daughter] Sami to get a nose job about two years ago. So when she said she didn’t want me to get a facelift, she said: ‘Mom, you did not want me to get a nose job.’

‘I said: “Yeah, but you were 20 years old and that’s your nose. That could change the way you look.” For me, he’s just putting things back where they were. I’m not trying to change the way I look; I’m just trying to put things back. There’s a little difference, in my opinion’.’

She added: ‘But I understand her feelings. She said she wished she had my nose, but she got her dad’s nose. I told her: ‘Your dad has a beautiful nose, and it looks beautiful on you’.’

In the before photo, the former Bond girl had heavier eyelids, wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes, and a downturned lip. In the after photo, she had lighter eyelids, less wrinkles and a more balances lip.

Richards broke the news of her dramatic facelift with Allure’s Elizabeth Siegel last week. And the former Playboy cover girl candidly discussed her plastic surgery journey.

The star said she had the complete process eight months ago as she shared photos from the surgery.

And she said she was sad when her ex leaked the news to the press before she could talk about it.

‘I wanted to put things back up, where they were before,’ said Richards. ‘I was terrified. Being in the public eye since my 20s, people know what I look like – a facelift is not something that I could hide.’

It’s not the first time she has had plastic surgery. Richards had her breasts done at 19, and has had revision surgery for her implants since then. But, she said, it is the first time she has had cosmetic surgery on her face.

‘It is night and day,’ Richards said of her before and after look. ‘It’s shocking, actually.’

After she had the facelift, she said other stars ‘were more comfortable telling me about theirs, but I’m not gonna name names.’

Still, she says, it can be great to know that ‘it’s not just serums and working out and lasers’ that make people like her look younger.

‘Going through my divorce, my ex [Aaron Phypers] disclosed that I’d had a facelift. He had a photographer show up outside an appointment where I had some microneedling on my scars,’ she claimed.

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Richards in 2023, left, and last week, right

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From left: Camille Grammer, Rebecca Hessel Cohen, Cynthia Bailey, Kathy Hilton, Richards, Sutton Stracke and Crystal Kung Minkoff

‘So [my ex] told someone that I had a facelift, and said it was botched, which is really ridiculous.

‘You know, I went back and forth about whether I was going to say anything about my facelift – um, he kind of let the cat out of the bag.

‘I think I could have gotten away with, ‘Oh, she looks so much better after her divorce.’ I think I probably would’ve been able to get away with it—or not, I don’t know.’

This comes after Richards was ordered to pay her estranged husband, Phypers, $5,000 a month in temporary spousal support.

The actress and her ex, 53, are amid divorce proceedings after separating last summer and during the latest court hearing related to the split, Judge Nicole Bershon ruled the movie star must pay Phypers the monthly amount and contribute $30,000 towards his legal fees.

The judge clarified that the attorney’s fees apply only to the divorce case and not to Phypers’s criminal defense.

He is facing four felony counts – two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat – allegations he has denied.

The $30,000 in legal fees will be paid in three installments, with the first $10,000 due at the end of March.

Judge Bershon itemized the monthly $5,000 support payment as $2,000 for rent, $1,000 for a car, $1,000 for food and the remaining sum for miscellaneous expenses.

Phypers told the court on February 26 he had only $200 to his name and said the ruling would ‘certainly help’ but that he was taking matters ‘one day at a time.’

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Aaron Phypers and Richards visit SiriusXM Studios in January 2025 in Los Angeles

Richards’s lawyer, Mark Gross, argued the financial burden of caring for her 14-year-old daughter, Eloise, who has a rare chromosomal disorder resulting in developmental delays, was ‘pretty extraordinary.’

He said: ‘Victims of abuse shouldn’t be required to support their abuser’ – referencing Denise being granted a permanent restraining order against Phypers in November 2025.

His lawyer responded that the Quantum 360 founder has not been convicted of the charges.

In January, Richards reflected on what she described on Instagram as a hard year of ‘letting go [and] truths being exposed’. She wrote: ‘As painful as it is, I’m so grateful for the clarity.’

Phypers was previously married to actress Nicollette Sheridan before their divorce in 2018.