Denise Richards says ‘Two and a Half Men’ led to Charlie Sheen ‘not being sober’

Denise Richards believes “Two and a Half Men” turned Charlie Sheen into a man she didn’t recognize.

The “Wild Things” actress, 52, revealed on a recent episode of the podcast Just B with Bethenny Frankel, that the series’ rise in popularity affected Sheen’s sobriety in a negative way.

“I think because [of] the success of ‘Two and a Half Men’ and the money,” she recalled, “I think that led to him getting back into not being sober.”

“All I know is he was no longer the person that I married and no longer sober,” she said.

The “Twisted” actress and the 58-year-old Emmy winner were married from 2002 until 2006 and they share daughters Sami, 19, and Lola, 18, together.

Sheen soon turned back to sobriety after he was fired from the sitcom.

He got candid about his substance abuse issues on ITV’s “Loose Women” in 2019.

“It feels awful. I can’t sit there and lie to you,” he sighed. “Some of it is very surreal. To this day, I am not sure how I created such chaos and wound up in that headspace. It’s as though there was some alien or demonic possession going on.”

Ironically, without Richards there might have only been one and a half men.

The “Love Accidentally” actress says she motivated ex-husband and sitcom alum Charlie Sheen to star in the hit CBS series and encouraged Sheen to take on the role of Charlie Harper.

“He got ‘Two and a Half Men’ while I was pregnant [with their daughter Sami],” she said.

“He was nervous about starting a new TV show after ‘Spin City’ got canceled,” she continued. “By the way, I read the script for [‘Two and a Half Men’] and said, ‘You have to do this show.’”

After star Michael J. Fox left ABC’s “Spin City” in 2000 to deal with his Parkinson’s disease, Sheen took over his spot until the comedy ended in 2002.

“He was going to do a different show,” the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star continued. “And I read the script and I go, ‘You’re crazy for not doing this.’”

“Two and a Half Men” aired from 2003 until 2015, with the “Scary Movie 3” actor leaving in 2011.

He departed the show due to having a feud with creator Chuck Lorre. He was later replaced by Ashton Kutcher.